Osceola Historical Society - Historic 'Emily Olson' House
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Built in 1862, the house is one of the original homes built in Osceola. It was built by Andrew "Hick" Jackson Clark for his new bride, Emily Salisbury. Jackson left to fight in the Civil War in 1863, contracted tuberculosis and died in 1873 leaving a widow and two small children. Emily Salisbury married Daniel Mears in 1875 and had one child, Edna. Edna married Andrew Olson and had one child, Emily Olson. The house was continuously occupied by the Clark family from 1862 until 1964.
Images
Emily Olson House
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Emily Olson graduated from Osceola WI High School and Superior Teacher’s College. She pursued a career in library science at Stanford University in California. Upon retirement in 1978 she returned to Osceola.
Emily donated her house to the Osceola Public Library in 1976. She was a founding member of the Osceola Historical Society (OHS) and served as its secretary until her death in 1986.
When the library moved to larger quarters in 1988 the Osceola Historical Society purchased the house with funds generously donated by Emily Olson.