Rolvaag, O. E., House
About this property
The O. E. Rølvaag House was the home of Ole Edvart Rølvaag (1876–1931), Norwegian-American novelist and professor at St. Olaf College. The home is located at 311 Manitou Street in Northfield, Minnesota, United States, near the college. Rølvaag wrote most of his works in this house. Rølvaag was born in Norway in 1876, and emigrated to the United States in 1896, settling in South Dakota. He graduated from St. Olaf College in 1905, and got a position there teaching Norwegian and writing. Rølvaag was the first novelist to describe the psychological cost of pioneering on the American frontier. Rølvaag's famous trilogy—Giants in the Earth (1927), Peder Victorious (1928), and Their Father's God (1931)—assesses the adjustments immigrant farmers had to make to prosper in the American Midwest. The house stands on the west side of Manitou Street, between Greenvale and Summit Avenues, just east of the St. Olaf College campus. It is a 1+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a stuccoed first floor and a clapboarded half story. It has a broad side-gable roof, with a pair of large gable dormers projecting to the front. The eaves of the main roof and dormers are extended, with exposed rafter ends and large brackets in the Craftsman style. The roof extends downward to shelter a now-enclosed porch extending across the front. The house was built for Rølvaag in 1912, and remained his home until his death in 1931. Principal alterations during his occupancy were the enclosing of the front porch, and the development of a garden in the rear. Some of the interior finishes have been preserved, including oak trim in the public spaces downstairs.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Rolvaag, O. E., House listed on the National Register?
Rolvaag, O. E., House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 3, 1969.
What type of historic resource is Rolvaag, O. E., House?
Rolvaag, O. E., House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Rolvaag, O. E., House a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Rolvaag, O. E., House has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Rolvaag, O. E., House?
The period of significance for Rolvaag, O. E., House is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Rolvaag, O. E., House?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Rolvaag, O. E., House will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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