Ole & Magdalena Olsen Farm

Ole Olsen's farmhouse.

NPS credit

The Ole Olsen farm illustrates how farms were bought and sold within a community. Although the boundaries of this 120 acre farm have remained constant, ownership changed many times. The land was settled by Olsen, who emigrated from Kristiansand, Norway, and landed on North Manitou Island, where he met his wife, Magdalena Burfiend.

The original owner of 80 acres of this parcel was Andrew Tuffner, who sold it to Thomas Kelderhouse in 1865. Kelderhouse then sold it to Ole Olsen in 1877. Mr. Olsen sold the property to Carsten Burfiend in 1879, and bought it back two years later.
After Ole Olsen built the farm, his son Charles bought it in 1891 and farmed there until 1915 when he married and built a farm on M-22. He later sold this farm to Albert and Ida (Dago) Prause. In 1954, Prause sold the farm to Howard Olsen, a grandson of Ole and a nephew of Charles. Howard Olsen's widow, Bertha, lived in the house until her death in 1995.

The land changed hands many times, but, for most of the time, it was owned by the Olsen family.

A short hike of about 1/3 mile east from the buildings will take you behind Narada Lake, where herons, geese, and loons are often seen.