Nils Ahlstrom House
Photograph of a house
The Ahlstrom House in 2011
Location248 5th Street
Ashland, Oregon
Coordinates42°06′54″N 122°25′20″W / 42.1150°N 122.4221°W / 42.1150; -122.4221
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1888
Built byJohn Fruhan
Architectural styleClassical Revival
Part ofAshland Railroad Addition Historic District (ID99000533)
NRHP reference No.80003315
Added to NRHPFebruary 15, 1980

The Nils Ahlstrom House is a nineteenth century Classical Revival house located in Ashland, Oregon. Built in 1888 by Nils Ahlstrom, a railroad worker who had emigrated from Sweden, the home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1][2]

History

The Nils Ahlstrom House was built for Nils Ahlstrom, then a conductor with the Southern Pacific Railroad.[3] Ahlstrom, who was born in Sweden in 1829, relocated to Ashland, Oregon with his wife, Lavinia, also Swedish.[4]

The house was built near the Ashland Depot shortly after the railroad that connected Ashland to Portland, Oregon, and northern California was completed in December 1887.[3] The land on which the house was built was bought from George H. Andrews early in 1888. The two-story structure was built by John Fruhan[5] and completed about October of that year. The construction of the structure was reported to have cost $800.[6] The structure housed Ahlstrom's family, though five of his children died during a diphtheria outbreak.[3] Ahlstrom died in May 1902 and his wife in 1920. Ownership then passed to one of their children. Currently the house remains privately owned.[4][5]

Structure

The classical revival structure was raised by John Fruhan, then a local workman.[3][5] The building is T-shaped, incorporating a rectangular main structure and an additional wing towards the back.[3]

The two-story structure rests on a stone foundation and has a hipped roof. There are four double-hung sash windows towards the front. Decorative moldings line the tops of the windows and the door frames. On the inside the main rectangular structure hosts four rooms downstairs with a kitchen and pantry located on the lower level in the wing section. Upstairs are five bedrooms, one of which is located, along with a bath and the staircase that leads from below, in the wing. The house also boasts two chimneys.[7]

The house, which was entered on the National Register of Historic Places, also forms part of the Ashland Railroad Addition Historic District.[8] The Ahlstrom house represents the type of structures common among railroad workers during the era just after the completion of the railroad.[7] It was one of the first such structures to be built in Ashland during that period.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Atwood, Kay (December 1979), National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form: Ahlstrom, Nils, House (PDF), retrieved June 27, 2014.
  2. ↑ Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon Historic Sites Database, retrieved June 27, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nils Ahlstrom House". National Park Service. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "NA" (PDF). in Ashland Cultural Resource Inventory Survey Form. October 2, 1888.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. 1 2 3 "Oregon - Jackson County". Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ "United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service". December 1979. Retrieved January 30, 2014. "Mr. Ahlstrom's two-story dwelling on Fifth Street was raised this week." (in the Ashland Daily Tidings of January 4, 1889)
  7. 1 2 3 "Ashland Cultural Resource Inventory Survey Form" (PDF). January 5, 1984. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  8. ↑ Kramer, George (August 1, 1998), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Ashland Railroad Addition Historic District (PDF), retrieved June 27, 2014.
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