Property Record
739 CHIPPEWA ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Ole Olson Residence |
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| Reference Number: | 40965 |
| Location (Address): | 739 CHIPPEWA ST |
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| County: | Eau Claire |
| City: | Eau Claire |
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| Year Built: | 1875 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1981 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Side Gabled |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Asbestos |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | A one and a half story frame (asbestos siding covers the walls) residence covered by a gable roof which is interrupted on the main facade by a gable. An enclosed porch stretches across the front of the house. Ole Olson, a prominent member of Eau Claire's Norwegian community, occupied this residence from 1898 until his death in 1903. Born in Christiania, Norway, Olson immigrated to the United States in the early 1880's. He settled first in Chicago where he published a small monthly temperanece paper. In 1891 he moved to Eau Claire and with George Engelstad established the weekly Reform. Soon after the paper was established, Engelstad returned to Norway leaving Olson as editor and business manager. In 1896 Waldemar Ager (429 Chestnut Street, 3L/3) was hired as business manager and Olson continued as editor until his death (B,C). The following description of Olson is contained in the 1914 county history: "He was a splendid orator, probably the most talented one among his people. He was also an efficient writer, and the change in sentiment with reference to intoxicating drinks which is marked among Norwegians in Eau Claire, as well as other places in the Norwegian-America, is in a high degree due to this man's self-sacrificing and indefatigable work for total abstinence and prohibition" (B). |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) 1898-1904 Eau Claire City Directories. (B) History of Eau Claire County, 1914, pp. 504-505, pp. 580-581. (C) Eau Claire Telegram, April 9, 1903, p. 9. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |