FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephanie Chambers
schambers@chambersarchitects.com
Dallas, Texas… The process of industrialization in Norway had resulted in the jobs of many farmers and skilled craftsmen being taken over by machines. Many Norwegian families decided to join friends and family who were already established in the United States. Karl Questad was one of many immigrants who landed in New Orleans, made his way to Texas, eventually settling in Bosque County where every settler was awarded 320 acres of land to farm and develop. “The Karl and Sedsel Questad Farm” is the story of their home over the last one-hundred-and-sixty years by Texas architect, Stephen B. Chambers and his wife, Stephanie Chambers.
If you’ve ever had a yearning to preserve a historic property or ranch, a second home or rural property, this book is for you. It’s a meaningful short story of one farm’s history and its preservation, and features the artful photography of Norwegian-American Peter Larsen. It’s about Texas-Norwegian cowboys, historic Bosque County, and an important period of Texas history.
Ralph Hawkins, FAIA and CEO Emeritus of HKS Architects, says of the book, “An excellent explanation of how to support preservation in a special way.”
Daniel J. Hale, Agatha Award-winning author, says of the book, “Like so many of his fellow Norwegians, Karl Questad came to America in 1854 to make a better life for himself and his family. Settling in Bosque County, Texas, he used his Old World masonry, carpentry and blacksmithing skills to build a home for the generations. The buildings eventually fell into disrepair, so the owners called on architect Stephen B. Chambers to bring the historic site back to life. In The Karl and Sedsel Questad Farm, Chambers and his wife, Stephanie, document the important restoration and preservation of a Texas-Norwegian cowboy’s 160-year-old legacy. Superb images by photographer Peter Larsen – himself of Norwegian descent – round out the book’s meticulous architect’s design and artful storytelling.”
