Stephansson House

Stephansson House is a tribute to homesteading life and to one who lived it– Stephan G. Stephansson, an Alberta farmer and Iceland’s most revered poet. He was born in Iceland in 1853 and, in 1873, immigrated to the United States, first to Wisconsin and then to the Dakota Territory. In 1889 the Stephansson family joined a new Icelandic settlement west of Red Deer.

In addition to farming and writing poetry, Stephansson was very active in the community. His first volumes of poetry, titled “Andvokur” (Sleepless Nights), were published in 1908 and acclaimed in the Icelandic community. At age sixty, he turned the farm over to his son Jakob in order to devote more time to writing. The highlight of his literary career was his 1917 four-month reading tour of Iceland. On Stephansson’s death in 1927, 500 Icelanders from across North America attended his burial at the Christiansson cemetery near Markerville.

The Victorian cottage where Stephansson and his wife, Helga, raised six children was designated a Provincial Historic Site in 1976. It has been restored to its 1927 appearance, and now costumed interpreters demonstrate spinning, baking, household chores and, of course, poetry reading.

Hours and Admission:
May 15 – Labour Day
Daily, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

$3.00 – Adults
$2.00 – Seniors
$2.00 – Youth (7–17)
$8.00 – Families
Free – Children 6 and under
Free – Members of local Friends society
½ price for members of other Friends societies

Contact:
Stephansson House
Box 837
Markerville, Alberta
T0M 1M0
Phone: (780) 427–3995
Summer phone: (403) 728–3929
Fax: (780) 422–4288
Email: olga.fowler@gov.ab.ca
Website: Site listing

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