Alaska State

Early Norwegian Presence

By 1905, the territory was still in an early stage of development, and most Norwegians who had gone there were gold seekers, businessmen, fishermen, hunters, or others who did not necessarily intend to settle permanently.

Mining, hunting, and fishing were the principal sources of income in Alaska. By 1905, farming and logging had also begun to develop.

Norwegian Gold Seekers

Among the Norwegians associated with the discovery of the rich goldfields in the Nome district around 1900 were Jafet Lindeberg, Magnus Kjelsberg and his brother, V. Basi, and O. Paulsen. Their discoveries helped attract large numbers of people to the area, and Nome soon developed into an important mining and commercial center. Although Lindeberg’s name might suggest Swedish ancestry, he was Norwegian and had been born in Finnmark.

Only a small proportion of those who went north in search of gold found the wealth they hoped for. Many lost so much money that they could not afford to return home, while others died from cold, hunger, exhaustion, blizzards, and other hardships in the remote wilderness.

Norwegian Communities

Norwegians could be found in Nome, Dawson, Juneau, Wrangell, Sitka, Kodiak, Petersburg, and several other towns and districts.

Norwegian Place Names

The city of Petersburg was named after the Norwegian Peter Buschmann, who became a prominent figure in the area before his life ended tragically. The was a post office named Andvik.

Mission Work

Beginning in 1894, the Norwegian Synod maintained a mission station among the Inuit at Port Clarence. Pastor T. L. Brevig managed the station for most of this period.

Sources:

[Ulvestad, Martin. Nordmændene i Amerika. Utg. History Book Company's Forlag. Minneapolis, Minn. 1907.]