The Olsons were women’s apparel designers and tailors and their expert work was widely known. Olson and Mrs. Wood also were artists and their paintings gained for them a wide reputation.
The Olson house which has rooms on first and second floors, dates back to 1897 when it was built on a lot across the street from its present location. The original site was at the east end of Johnson Place. When this block-long street was cut through from Twelfth to Thirteenth Streets in 1911 in order to provide building lots in a previously inaccessible area, the Olson house was moved to the southeast corner of Third Avenue North and Thirteenth Street—its present location.
The house remained in possession of Mrs. Wood for many years after the death of her parents and she continued her tailoring and art work there. After her death the property was sold in 1969 to Mrs. Helen L. Moreland who presently resides there.
Olson turned out many fine oil paintings during spare time from his tailoring work. Mrs. Wood’s art work was mostly in water colors. Both spent many hours in wooded areas around the city sketching and then completing the paintings at home. Mrs. Wood also made a trip to Norway where she did extensive sketching and painting. As a result many of her water colors were scenes from Norway. She also turned out paintings of farms and rural area scenes.
The Olson home
1301 3rd Avenue North
Mrs. Wood painted and decorated the kitchen of her home in the style of Norwegian kitchens. It became so widely known that a picture of the kitchen and a story about her work appeared in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The interior of the home has been remodeled by Mrs. Moreland and the downstairs now includes a living room, two bedrooms and a kitchen. The second floor has one bedroom and a bath. Walls have been painted, new floors laid and jalousie doors installed. Exterior of the house is painted red and growing on the outside walls are five different varieties of ivy plants.
THE WRIGHT HOME
This was the residence of a pioneer businessman and early-day railroad official—Thomas H. Wright. Built in the late 1880s, the home at 209 S. 7th St., has been owned and occupied by members of the Wright family since then. Many changes have been made in the home since it was constructed. In the late 1930s it was modernized, a new entryway was added and brown cedar shingles were applied to the exterior.
Isaac Garmoe, another pioneer businessman here, bought the property in 1873. Ten years later it was sold to Thomas H. Wright who later erected the house which is still owned by his two daughters—the Misses Marie Wright and Florence Wright. Marie is a retired Fort Dodge Senior and Junior High school social studies teacher; Florence is the former organist at First Presbyterian Church.