Helvig–Olson Farm Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Helvig–Olson Farm Historic District
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The original house, now a garage is on the left and the corn crib is on the right. The other farm buildings are behind them (July 2014).
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 2008 260th St. Grand Mound, Iowa |
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| Area | 4.3 acres (1.7 ha) |
| Built by | Will Ehlers, L. P. Huetter |
| MPS | Norwegian Related Resources of Olive Township, Clinton County, Iowa MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 00000924 |
| Added to NRHP | August 15, 2000 |
The Helvig–Olson Farm Historic District is a special farm area in the countryside of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It's about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Grand Mound, Iowa. This farm is important because it shows how farming was done in the past. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. This means it's recognized as a place worth preserving.
Contents
Farm History
Family Origins
The Helvig–Olson family came from a place called Kvinnherad Parish in Norway. They first moved to Kendall County, Illinois. Later, in the late 1850s and early 1860s, they moved to Olive Township, Clinton County, Iowa.
John J. Helvig bought the first 80 acres (32 ha) of this farm in 1864. His half-brother, John Olson, had bought a nearby farm two years before. John Olson was also one of the people who started the Kvindherred Lutheran Church. This church is located about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the farm.
Norwegian Surnames in America
When Norwegians first came to America, their last names could be a bit confusing. In rural Norway, children usually got three names. They had a first name, a second name from their father (like "Oleson" for a boy or "Olesdatter" for a girl), and a third name from the farm where they lived.
When they arrived in America, people were encouraged to choose just one last name. This could be their father's name (like Olson) or the farm name (like Helvig). The female version of the father's name, ending in "-datter," was often changed to "-son" or "-sen" for women. This is why John Olson, John Helvig's half-brother, was sometimes called John O. Helvig. "Olson" was their Americanized family name, and "Helvig" was the name of the farm where they were both born.
Farm Growth and Ownership
The Helvig–Olson family did very well on this farm. John Helvig made the farm much bigger, reaching 380 acres (154 ha) by 1864. Starting in 1870, John Olson wrote letters to his brother in Norway. He said that children could earn their own living in America and help their parents.
Nils Olai Olson, who was John Olson's only son, bought the Helvig farm in 1901. He combined the two farms, becoming one of the biggest landowners in Olive Township. The farm later became 237 acres (96 ha). It was owned by Joel Olson, a great-grand-nephew of John J. Helvig, when it was listed as a historic place.
Farm Description
Historic Area
The historic district itself covers 4.3 acres (1.7 ha) of the original farm. This area includes eight buildings. Six of these buildings were built between 1928 and 1943. On the north side of the farm, there's a large machine shed built in 1978. This shed is covered in steel and is the only building not considered part of the historic value.
Farm Landscape
The land of the farmstead is also important to its historic value. On the west side and a small part of the north side, there's a line of shade trees. These trees act as a windbreak for the yard. The oldest trees were planted in 1910, and more were added in 1960. A long lane connects the farm to 260th Street.
The farm land is mostly flat. It used to have marshy areas, but most of these have been drained. There's a natural spring on the original farm, northeast of the main buildings. This spring is the start of Barber Creek, which flows into the Wapsipinicon River to the south. Before wells were common, this spring was a water source for several farms. The first settlers even did their laundry there. In 1912, drainage pipes and ditches were put in on the farm. Later, trees grew around the spring, and two ponds were created to the south in 1933 and 1937.
Farm Buildings
The farm buildings were built along the east side of the farm. They were all painted red with white trim until about 1940. After that, they were all painted white.
Original House (Now a Garage)
The oldest house on the farm dates back to the 1860s. It was changed into a garage in 1940. This two-story building was built in a style common for Norwegian-American homes. The main floor has been changed to create two large openings on the south side. However, the second floor is still in its original condition. Some of the original windows and a side entrance are still used. This building was moved to its current spot when the new house was built.
Current House
The main house you see today was built in 1930. It stands where the original house used to be. It's a simple American Four-Square style house. It has some Craftsman design ideas on the front porch. The roof is a low-pitched Prairie-style roof with small dormers (windows that stick out from the roof) on the south and west sides. It also has wide eaves (the parts of the roof that hang over the walls).
This two-story house is covered in wood siding. It sits on a limestone foundation, which is covered with brick on the outside. Besides the front porch, there's also a side porch, a back entrance, and a small window bay that sticks out from the dining room. Will Ehlers, who built other similar houses in the area, constructed this house.
Hog House
The oldest farm building is the hog house, built in 1928. This building is 28 by 48 feet (8.5 by 14.6 m). It includes an area for holding pigs, a pasture, and an exercise space. The building has a gambrel roof (a roof with two different slopes on each side). It also has two rows of eight skylights on both sides and two vents on the roof peak. A large sliding door is on the west side.
Barn
The barn is 74 feet (22.6 m) south of the hog house. This large building, 38 by 60 feet (11.6 by 18.3 m), was built by Will Ehlers in 1937. It also has a gambrel roof with two dormers on the south side and a vent at the roof peak. The barn is built on a concrete foundation. Its outside walls are covered with vertical fir boards.
Inside, the ground floor has a central walkway. Horse stalls and a calf pen were on the north side, while dairy cow stalls were on the south. The upper level originally had two grain bins, but it was later changed into one large loft for storing hay. Like the hog house, the barn also has its own holding pen, pasture, and exercise area for animals.
Cattle Loafing Shed
To the south and east of the barn is a cattle "loafing" shed. This shed, 24 by 60 feet (7.3 by 18.3 m), was built in 1943 from wood. It has an off-center gable roof (a roof that slopes down on two sides, forming a triangle at each end). It has a sliding door on the west side and four open areas facing south on the inside.
Double Corn Crib
The last major farm building is a double corn crib, built in 1941. It was constructed by L. P. Huetter, a builder from Calamus, Iowa. This wooden building is 30 by 50 feet (9.1 by 15.2 m). It has a 5,000-bushel (176 m³) grain bin in the middle, with two 4,000-bushel (141 m³) cribs on either side.
It has a gambrel roof and a small tower called a cupola on top. This cupola holds machinery that lifts ear corn and grain and sends them into the cribs. The floor of the building is made of concrete. The walls are made of special pine boards that are spaced apart to allow air to flow through and dry the corn.
