Jenson, James Jens and Martha, House

Standing on a hill about five miles northwest of Clifton, this two-story wood-frame house looks south over the upper Meridian Creek valley. Its owner reports that it was erected in 1876, and it is believed to be the oldest frame residence in the Norwegian Settlement of Bosque County. The house has a T-shaped plan and a stone rubble foundation. It was first covered in board-and-batten siding, though clapboards were later applied over some walls. A one-story porch with turned wood posts runs across the front, and small four-light windows above it light the loft. Other windows are double hung with four-over-four lights. Two gables meeting at right angles form the corrugated-metal roof, and a corbeled brick chimney rises near their intersection. An underground cistern lies a few feet north of the house. Only two 19th-century residences in the Norwegian area use board-and-batten construction, and this is one of them. Although unoccupied, the house remains in good condition.