Places with a story
Sjønstå gård
Sjønstå gård is a rare surviving cluster of farm buildings beside Øvervatnet in Fauske. Its close-set timber houses preserve farming history while also telling how Sulitjelma’s mining industry transformed a rural place into a transport junction.
The place1
The farm first appears in a tax register from 1665. It was divided into Øvergården and Nergården in 1760, creating the two holdings that shaped the clustered layout. Nordland Museum presents twenty-two buildings at the museum site and explains the arrangement as a surviving example of the densely built farm clusters once common in Norway.
History and local connections1
For centuries, fishing and farming supported life here, with shipping to Bergen and participation in the Lofoten fisheries. Sulitjelma Gruber acquired the property in 1891 and used Sjønstå for ore transport and transshipment. When the railway was extended to Finneid in 1956, the junction lost that role and the settlement rapidly emptied.
What to look for1
Terraced fields and the tight grouping of buildings help connect the agricultural and industrial stories. A wooden suspension bridge, completed in 1922, linked the farm with the station. It collapsed in a storm in 1984 and reopened after restoration in 1986. The farm complex received heritage protection in 2006.
Planning a visit1
Follow the museum’s directions to Sjønstågårdveien 20; the final approach from parking crosses the wooden bridge on foot. Current seasonal opening and guided visits are published by Nordland Museum, which took over operation and ownership in January 2025. The historic buildings have limited adaptation for mobility needs. The privately owned Nergården is distinct from the museum’s visitor areas.
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