Anders and Johanna Olsson Farm facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Anders and Johanna Olsson Farm
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | New Sweden, Maine |
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| Area | 60 acres (24 ha) |
| Built | 1871 |
| Architectural style | Maine Swedish Log House |
| NRHP reference No. | 96000245 |
| Added to NRHP | March 7, 1996 |
The Anders and Johanna Olsson Farm is a special old farm in New Sweden, Maine, United States. It has parts of a log house and a log barn built a long time ago. These were built by Anders Olsson, who was an immigrant from Sweden. This barn is super unique! It's the only one left in Maine that was built by Swedish immigrants in the late 1800s. This farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 because it's so important.
What the Farm Looks Like
The Olsson Farm is a big property, about 60 acres. It's located on West Road in New Sweden, Maine. The farm has several buildings connected together. The main house is made of wood. It has a sloped roof and a porch that wraps around the front and side.
Behind the main house, there's an older log structure. This part of the house has walls made of logs that you can still see inside. A modern walkway connects this log house part to the log barn. All these buildings together form an L shape.
The barn is also made of logs. It's about 32 feet by 18 feet. It has a special roof shape called a gambrel roof. This roof was added around 1915.
A Bit of History
In the 1860s, Maine wanted more people to move to the northern part of the state. So, they started a plan to bring in immigrants. Many settlers came from Sweden, with the first group arriving in 1870.
Anders Olsson arrived in Maine in 1871. His wife, Johanna, came the next year. Anders probably built the log part of the house soon after he arrived. He built the log barn in 1873. We know this because an article from 1874 talked about these buildings.
Later, around 1889, Anders built the main wooden part of the house. He moved the old log house to the back of the new building. This was probably because his family was growing.
Anders Olsson was very good at building with logs. His buildings were made very well. They were much better than other log buildings in Maine. He made sure they were strong and kept the weather out. The barn is especially important. It's the only one known to still exist from the early days of Swedish immigration to this area.
