Property Record
N749 COUNTY HIGHWAY AB
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Norwegian Settlement Era Log House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 136900 |
| Location (Address): | N749 COUNTY HIGHWAY AB |
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| County: | Kewaunee |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Franklin |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 22 |
| Range: | 23 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 25 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2005 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Other Vernacular |
| Structural System: | Log |
| Wall Material: | Log |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | This farmstead, adjacent to the Norwegian Lutheran cemetery, the former location of the Franklin Norwegian Lutheran church which burned in 1954, was at the geographic center of what was once a Norwegian settlement of six adjoining farms. The farmstead has a one and on-half story L plan farmhouse covered with wide aluminum siding. The potentially significant buildings, however, are a log house and barn. Most important is a small saddle-notched log house with a central door flanked by a tiny window on each side. Saddle notching is characteristic of Norwegian building traditions and the small windows speak of settlement era construction. The survey discovered no other saddle-notched log buildings were seen in the vicinity. While today the front foor faces north, suggesting that thouse has been moved, that may not be the case. Norwegians did not consistently shelter the entrances of their buildings from winter winds. For example, the 1852 Hauge Log Church (Dane County, NRHP 1974)was set on an exposed hilltop, its door facing north. After it went out of use as house, like many log houses in Kewaunee County, it became part of a barn, in this case with additions to each side. However, the original structure still clearly reads as an early Norwegian log house, with all the significant character defining elements intact and fully visible. The property also includes a small log barn with dovetail notching, a good example of the type and possessing good integrity. |
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| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |