The Johannes Erickson House is a historic

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

Scandia, Minnesota Scandia is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,984 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Scandia is 25 miles northeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota. History As evidence ...

, United States. It was built in 1868 with a

gambrel A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. This design provides the advantages of a sloped roof while maxim ...

roof, a distinctive tradition from southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It was moved to its current site adjacent to the

Hay Lake School The Hay Lake School is a historic schoolhouse in Scandia, Minnesota, United States, in use from 1896 to 1963. It is now operated by the Washington County Historical Society as a museum alongside the 1868 Johannes Erickson House. The school was ...

in 1974 to be part of a small museum complex operated by the Washington County Historical Society. The Erickson House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and exploration/settlement. It was nominated as a rare surviving example of a style brought to Minnesota by Swedish immigrants from

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...

and

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

Description

The Johannes Erickson House is a small, two-story house measuring . The walls are of hewn oak logs, covered over with plank siding. There are two rooms on each floor. The gambrel roof allows for a full-height upper story instead of the cramped

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

space of most log cabins. Access to the upper floor was originally gained by an exterior staircase. In its early days the house also had a

lean-to A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing structures open on one or more sides (colloquially referred to as lean-tos in spite of being unattac ...

at the rear for use as a summer kitchen.

History

The house was built in 1868 by Johannes Erickson and his 13-year-old son Alfred. In 1904 the adult Alfred Erickson built a new home for the family, and the original cabin saw use over the years as a

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

, a garage, and even a

playhouse Playhouse () is a common term for a theatre. Playhouse, The Playhouse, Playhouse Theatre, or Playhouse Theater may also refer to: Venues and theatre companies Australia * Dunstan Playhouse, at the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, South Au ...

. By 1974 it was no longer useful to owner Vernon Jellum, and he made plans to have it demolished or relocated. The Washington County Historical Society purchased the building and had it moved to its current site to form a small museum complex near a 1900 monument to the first Swedish settlers in Minnesota.

References

External links

Hay Lake School and Erickson Log Home
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Johannes, House 1868 establishments in Minnesota History museums in Minnesota Houses completed in 1868 Houses in Washington County, Minnesota Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Log buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Log cabins in the United States Museums in Washington County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Minnesota Swedish-American culture in Minnesota Swedish-American museums Vernacular architecture in Minnesota

Description

History

See also

References

External links