Olson House
Round Rock, Williamson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Swedish immigrant Johanna Olson (1835-1914) purchased this property in 1907 after she returned to the Round Rock area upon the death of her husband, Johannes, in 1894. Local contractor A.S. Robertson built this house for her in 1908, and it remained in the Olson family until 1944. Johanna and her daughters took in boarders from nearby Trinity College during its existence from 1906 until 1929. A good local example of Queen Anne architecture, the Olson House features classic elements of that style, including its asymmetry, wrap-around porch and fishscale shingles. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Swedish immigrant Johanna Olson bought this Round Rock property in 1907, having returned to the area after her husband's death in 1894. Local contractor A.S. Robertson built her a Queen Anne house in 1908, complete with the style's hallmark asymmetry, wrap-around porch, and fishscale shingles. Johanna and her daughters took in boarders from nearby Trinity College, which operated from 1906 to 1929, and the house stayed in the family until 1944.
Why it matters
The Olson House reflects the Swedish immigrant presence in central Texas and the modest entrepreneurship of widowed women who kept households afloat by boarding students in an era with few other options.
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Related people
- ¡ Johanna Olson
- ¡ A.S. Robertson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Trinity Lutheran College
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Founded by the Augustana Lutheran Synod, Trinity Lutheran College opened in Round Rock in 1906 after the town lured it with a well, city lots, and railroad freight concessions. A three-story native-stone building housed its first classes, and the school earned state accreditation in 1920 despite chronic financial strain. When it failed and merged in 1929, the campus took on new life as Lutheran homes for children and the aged.
A. J. and Carolina Anderson House
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