Fogelbo House at Nordic Northwest - Portland, Oregon
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giacaches
N 45° 27.382 W 122° 46.016
10T E 518223 N 5033675
The Fogelbo House is a log home located on the campus of Nordic Northwest in Portland, Oregon. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 2020.
Waymark Code: WM18J6A
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 08/09/2023
Views: 8
Nestled in the mature trees along Oleson Road is an unassuming place called Fogelbo. In Swedish, fogelbo means “bird nest” and is derived from the Fogelquist family name, which means “bird on a branch.”
A sweeping drive takes you to a finely crafted log home, rustic but clearly loved and not without charm. On July 21, 2020 Fogelbo was recognized on the National Register of Historic places by The Department of the Interior’s National Park Service. The National Register is the official list of America’s historic places and it is part of a program to support efforts in the identification, evaluation and protection of the nation’s historic and archaeological resources
The log structure was built between 1938 and 1940. A Swedish couple, Mr. Oscar Olson and his wife, had the home built by Henry Steiner, one of the chief carpenters on Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Timberline as a National Historic Monument in 1937, thanks in part to Steiner’s fine craftsmanship.
Fogelbo was constructed with hand tools and with materials from Mt. Hood in between and 1940 1938 by Henry and John Steiner. Henry Steiner was one of the chief craftsmen who built Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, Oregon. His son, John Steiner, was a stonemason and craftsman in his own right. Timberline Lodge is a National Historic Landmark also on the National Register of Historic Places.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Timberline as a National Historic Monument in 1937, thanks in part to Steiner’s fine craftsmanship. Henry Steiner built over one hundred log cabins, mostly in the vicinity of Mt. Hood. These homes have been featured in many magazines, newspapers, and documentaries. Eighty Steiner cabins are still in use today. Fogelbo is the only home recognized on the National Register of Historical Places, a rare Washington County example of the Oregon Log House Style of architecture.
The concept of the log house was brought to America by the first Swedish colonists who settled in “New Sweden” in 1638 (or, the present-day Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). In later years, the colony of New Sweden was absorbed by the Dutch, and later by the English. The knowledge of log house construction was thus disseminated throughout the original colonies and eventually the whole country.
The next owners of the home, Charles and Jessie Fogelquist, did extensive work on the estate from 1952 to 1979. In 1989, Fogelbo was designated as a historical site by Washington County.
Charles and Jessie’s son, Ross, was a German teacher and foreign student advisor in the Evergreen School District in Vancouver, Washington. Carl the XVI, the King of Sweden, knighted Ross Fogelquist in 1985 with the title of the Knight of the Royal Order of the Polar Star, first class, due to Ross’s achievements on behalf of Sweden and Scandinavia.
Ross served as the Acting Swedish Consul for Oregon in 1993, and again between 1999 and 2001. He served as Honorary Vice Consul for the Swedish Consulate from 2001 until its closure in 2008. Ross has received numerous other awards locally and nationally for his contributions to the preservation of Nordic culture. He is a member and officer of many Swedish, German, Austrian, and Scandinavian organizations.
At Fogelbo, Ross has hosted many guests and groups from all parts of the world, particularly from Germany and Scandinavia. Guests of the Fogelquist Family have included: Foreign diplomats, nobility, artists, composers, folk dancers, exchange students, choirs, educators, and groups of many cultural backgrounds from the Pacific Northwest.
Fogelbo is home to many European and American artifacts and antiques. In fact, Fogelbo houses one of the largest private collections of Scandinavian artifacts and antiques in the United States! The house has been featured often in newspapers, magazines and on local television. In the past, up to 2000 guests would pass through Fogelbo’s grounds annually! In 2015, Ross deeded Fogelbo to the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation, now known as Nordic Northwest.
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