The Waldemar Ager Association was formed
in 1993 to save the Ager family home, which Waldemar Ager
purchased in 1903. There, he and his wife, Gurolle,
raised nine children, and in the study of this house, Ager
wrote all seven of his novels. In addition to those seven
novels, Ager published several collections of short stories
about the lives and culture of Norwegians in America. Along
with writing fiction, Ager published a Norwegian language
weekly, Reform, and traveled throughout the United States
speaking in support of prohibition and of the preservation
of Norwegian culture and language in America.
In 1962, Luther Hospital bought the Ager home, and its auxiliary
group housed the Red Carpet resale shop there. In 1993, when
Luther Hospital needed the space to expand its complex, it
donated the house to the Waldemar Ager Association and then
moved the home from its original spot on Chestnut Street to
its current location at 514 W. Madison Street. Since that
time, dedicated volunteers have restored the house to its
early-1900's likeness.
The Ager House has been included on
the National Register of Historic Places and also
recognized as a Literary Landmark by the National
Association of Friends of Public Libraries.
Our Goals:
- To preserve and study the works of Waldemar Ager.
- To preserve and study the contributions made by other immigrants in the Chippewa Valley.
- To restore and preserve the Ager home as a representative of the 1890's Victorian-era cottage in Eau Claire.
- To provide a meeting and study center for those interested in the work of Chippewa Valley immigrants.