Name: Louis and Nettie Olsen House
Year Built: 1880
Location: 1123 Garfield
Area: Uptown Port Townsend
This house was built around 1885 by William Payne. The earliest documentation for the house is the 1887 County tax ledger which says that William Payne owned the lot and that there were improvements (the house) valued at $200. Payne was also listed as the owner in the 1885 assessment roll, which did not give information about improvements. JCHS photo 12.9 which was take between 1887 and 1889 shows the house, and it is shown on 1890 Sanborn Map.
For eighty five years this was the home of the Olsen Family. The 1897 County tax ledger listed the owner at Nettie Olsen, and showed an increase in the value of improvements to $425. In 1900 Louis Olsen registered to vote living on Winslow Street, which was the old name for this portion of Garfield Street. The house remained in the Olsen family until 1981. Because of the long association with one family, the house is named the Louis and Nettie Olsen House.
Of the various structures on the property, only the main house can be found on the Sanborn maps from 1890 or 1891. The two sheds at the rear of the lot are shown on the 1911 Sanborn map, and could have been built any time between 1891 and 1911. A second house that was shown on the property in the 1890 through 1949 Sanborn Maps is no longer there.
The Louis and Nettie Olsen House as well as the Annie Olsen Cottage both on the National Historic Register, contribute to the historic quality of the uptown neighborhood.
Early Pioneer of Port Townsend. Laurits Julius Larsen (1852-1932) came to the NW in 1881 with his wife Nettie (Antonette Amalie Andreasdatter) and baby daughter Maggie (Amagda). His father had a thriving Shoemaking business in Drammen, Norway, Lars Olsen. He changed his name to Louis and was a shoemaker in Port Townsend for many years until 1928. His daughter Annie Olsen had a clothing shop in uptown PT located on the corner of Polk and Lawrence.
The Olsens lived at 27 Winslow Street (now 1123 Garfield Street) until 1981 when Annie Olsen, who never married, died, and the family sold the home. The house was restored in 2000.
Photo from 1907 is Nettie Olsen (1958-1927), her daughter Maggie (1879-1968), son-in-law, Captain Chris Nelson (1867-1918), and their daughter Helen (1901-1975).
Name: The Annie Olsen Cottage
Year Built: 1910
Location: 1123 Garfield Street
Area: Uptown Port Townsend
The Historic Landmark Home, The Annie Olsen Cottage was named for Annie Olsen. It was built between 1881 and 1911, and was restored in 2000.
Some data from the NATIONAL REGISTRY Information System, and Bruce Freeland of the Jefferson County Historical Society, and records from the Jefferson County Courthouse records.
