Upper Settlement Rural Historic District
Why it's listed
Set among gently rolling hills between Jenson and Rogstad Mountains, this district east of Cranfills Gap preserves a Norwegian farming settlement of the later 19th century. Sixteen major buildings stand within it, and fourteen are counted as contributing. They include Old St. Olaf's Church, a stuccoed stone building with a shingled bell tower and octagonal spire, and a series of farmhouses dating from the early 1860s to the 1910s, most from the 1870s and 1880s. Houses are built of limestone, log, and wood frame, with barns, cellars, cedar-post fences and collapsed stone walls nearby. The Bersvend and Kari Swenson farm, with its stone house, stone barn and dug-out cellar, is called the best-preserved early Norwegian farm community in the county. Several sites, such as the ruined Alfei farm, hold strong archeological potential. The landscape remains open and agricultural, and cedar telephone poles from the early 1900s line some roads. Together these features show how Norwegian pioneers lived in Texas.
Significance in brief: The district keeps much of the character and integrity of a 19th-century Norwegian farming community, with a cross-section of Norwegian farmhouses and outbuildings from the 1860s to the 1910s. The farms gathered around the Bersvend and Kari Swenson homestead are described as the best-preserved early Norwegian farm community in the county. Some ruined farm sites also have strong archeological potential.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83003126, listed July 22, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | E of Granfills Gap off TX 22, Granfills Gap |
|---|---|
| County | Bosque County |
| Listed | July 22, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83003126 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Norwegian vernacular farmhouses (stone, log and wood-frame) |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, European, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Mixed use: private residences, agriculture, religion. Some farmhouses are abandoned, unoccupied, or in ruins, while Old St. Olaf's Church is in excellent condition. |
| Acreage | 2880 |
| Coordinates | 31.78529, -97.76150 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83003126.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999653
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.