OLOF HANSON
Possibly the nation’s first deaf architect,
Olof Hanson’s life intersects with the Faribault community
in many ways. Hanson’s family emigrated to Minnesota from
Sweden in 1875. Hanson entered the School for the Deaf in 1878,
graduating in 1881 to attend Gallaudet University. His career
focused on both architecture and education of the deaf. During
an economic depression of the early 1890s, architectural work
was limited, and Hanson accepted a teaching position at the School
for the Deaf. Two years later, he opened his own architectural
practice in Faribault. A list of building plans attributed to
Hanson includes homes, stores, churches, and “ten schools
and institutional buildings.” Newspapers note that he also
supervised the construction of Faribault’s Central and High
Schools. Hanson died in Seattle in 1933 at the age of 71.
More information about Olof Hanson is available
from the Gallaudet
University Archives.
