Additional Information: | The 1873 map depicts C. Odell as the owner; a building is also shown, but it is not the present house. By 1890, Ole L. Bolstad owned the property. Ole L. Bolstad, a farmer, was a native of Norway who arrived to Dane County in 1854. By 1899 his son, Edward S. Bolstad, owned the property. Interestingly, the 1904 map shows no building; presumably the present house was built sometime in the period between 1904 and 1911, when it reappears and Ole Bidstad is depicted as the owner. By 1931, the property transferred into the George B. Halvorson family. George B. Halvorson was well-known in the Town of Christiana. Halvorson served as the town clerk for 44 years and was locally nicknamed the “tobacco king.” He was a “veteran farmer of the area and expert on tobacco.” Presumably, he built the tobacco barn. The property remained in the Halvorson family after George’s death, transferring to his son Nestor R. Halvorson, who owned through at least 1979. By 1985, the current owner, George A. Waag, acquired the property. Interestingly, George Haag indicated that the property at one time was a stagecoach stop, but that the original building is gone. |
Bibliographic References: | Atlas of Dane County, Wisconsin (1873)
History of Dane County (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880), 1170
Plat Book of Dane County, Wisconsin (1890)
New Atlas of Dane County, Wisconsin (1899)
Atlas of Dane County (1904)
Standard Historical Atlas of Dane County Wisconsin (1911)
Dane County Plat Book of Dane County, Wisconsin (1931)
Plat Book (Farm Atlas) of Dane County, Wisconsin (1947)
Atlas of Dane County, Wisconsin (1954)
Official County Plat Book and Rural Directory of Dane County, Wisconsin (1958)
Dane County, Wisconsin: Official Farm Plat Book (1960 and 1968)
Tri-Annual Atlas and Plat Book of Dane County, Wisconsin (1964)
Farm Plat Book Dane County, Wisconsin (1974)
Land Atlas & Plat Book Dane County, Wisconsin (1979, 1985, 1993, 1997 and 2003)
Land Atlas & Plat Book Dane County, Wisconsin (2007)
Wisconsin State Journal, ‘King’ Praises Tobacco Crop,” 25 August 1944
Wisconsin State Journal, “Tobacco Sale Starts Monday,” 5 January 1945
Wisconsin State Journal, “Tobacco Crop Repeater Seen,” 29 April 1946
Janesville Daily Gazette, “George Halvorson,” 31 July 1962
The Capital Times, “George Halvorson---Rugged Battler for Social Justice,” 1 August 1962
The Capital Times, “Geo. Halvorson Estate $65,000,” 8 August 1962
George Haag, Town of Christiana Employee and Owner, February 2012 |