John Olness House

The John Olness House is a building that many Clay County Minnesota locals recognize, since it can be spotted while driving along U.S. Route 75.[1] [Constructed in 1902, it was one of the very first family farmhouses in Clay County built in the Queen Anne style. This was unusual for its time, as most of the rural housing being built then was in a more typical farmhouse style—a style strictly for practicality, and not for aesthetic value. While the John Olness House is a historical site, it is currently being used as a wedding venue. [2]

The 1902 Queen Anne architectural style that also makes this house so distinctive was a style that saw its height in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This style was named after the reign of Queen Anne of Great Britain. One of the most striking aspects of the style are the roofs, which have been described as follows: “steeply pitched and complex, Queen Anne roofs provided visual interest and variety with gables, dormers, and turrets or towers, often all in one roof.” [3]  These characteristics were some of what Queen Anne style houses offered to folks. With such a dramatic style difference, the John Olness House stood out among the other homes in the farming community.

John Olness and his family immigrated from Norway in the late nineteenth century. Before leaving Norway, Mr. Olness had made most of his money from his lumber business. When he arrived in Minnesota, he worked as both an entrepreneur and a farmer, including establishing a lumber business as he had in Norway.[4] Olness also had success as a farmer. He grew corn, potatoes, as well as having small grains, alfalfa and having some other forage crops. He also built a herd of cattle and had two full-blood holstein bulls.[5]

The John Olness House stands as a symbol of the link between the farming community and the business community in Clay County. In recent years, the landmark has been under new management as “A Friend’s House,” and the building has come to be known more as a wedding venue than a historical site. [6] An appointment is required in order to visit the site. However, it remains on the National Register of Historic Places, and stands as a testament to a vibrant time in the farming and business communities of the early twentieth century.

[1] “About,” A Friend's House, 2018, http://www.afriendshouse.info/about.html.

[2] "History," A Friend's house, 2018, http://www.afriendshouse.info/about.html.

[3] Historical Style, “Queen Anne Style Architecture (1880-1910),” Queen Anne Style Architecture Facts and History | Guide to Architectural Styles | Home Remodeling & Architecture in Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA), Washington, DC, February 2, 2021, https://www.wentworthstudio.com/historic-styles/queen-.

[4] D. W. Meeker, Clay County, Illustrated Minnesota (Moorhead, MN: D. W. Meeker), 90.

[5] Fred W. Peterson, Homes in the Heartland: Balloon Frame Farmhouses of the Upper Midwest (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008), accessed January 28, 2021. ProQuest eBook Central, 80.

[6] “About.” A Friend's House, 2018.

“About.” A Friend's House, 2018. http://www.afriendshouse.info/about.html.

Harvey, Thomas. John Olness House. August 1979, photograph, National Park Service. Accessed April 21,2021, https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/e0a3f649-ca95-4222-8d3b-2936944a6e68.

Historical Style. “Queen Anne Style Architecture (1880-1910.” Queen Anne Style Architecture Facts and History | Guide to Architectural Styles | Home Remodeling & Architecture in Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA), Washington, DC, February 2, 2021, https://www.wentworthstudio.com/historic-styles/queen-.

"History." A Friend's house, 2018, http://www.afriendshouse.info/about.html.

Lamb, John. “History, a Mystery and Models of Old Minnesota and North Dakota Homes Decorated for the Holidays.” Brainerd Dispatch, December 23, 2020, https://www.brainerddispatch.com/lifestyle/home-and-garden/6812929-History-a-mystery-and-models-of-old-Minnesota-and-North-Dakota-homes-decorated-for-the-holidays.

McKinney, Matt. “Local.” No man is an island, but his house is one | StarTribune.com, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20110607044608/http://www.startribune.com/local/41795247.html. 

Meeker, D. W. Clay County. Moorhead: D. W. Meeker, 1916.

Peterson, Fred W. Homes in the Heartland: Balloon Frame Farmhouses of the Upper Midwest. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. Accessed January 28, 2021. ProQuest eBook Central.p

SH5544. John Olness House. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Olness_House#/media/File:Olness-House.jpg. Published February 14, 2018. Accessed April 21, 2021. Creative Commons BY 4.0 International license.