Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Early Norwegian Settlement

The first Norwegian settlers in Blue Earth County were Even Pedersen, Knudt Strøm, and Anders Strøm from Øyer Parish, Gudbrandsdalen. In 1857, they settled in Butternut Valley near Linden, which became an important center for the early Norwegian population in Brown, Blue Earth, and Watonwan Counties. Linden lay in the southeastern corner of Brown County, close to the borders of the other two counties. The area was still exposed to conflict with Native Americans during the early settlement period, and the source records several serious encounters, some of them violent.

The first Norwegian settler in the vicinity of Rapidan was John Roland from Gudbrandsdalen. In the Medo area, the first were Ole Johnson from the Kristiania (Oslo) region and Thron Hoverson from Flekkefjord.

At Mankato, Ovald Røsler was the first, or one of the first, Norwegian settlers. He emigrated aboard the sailing ship Marie from Bergen in 1864. During the Atlantic crossing, the vessel suffered serious damage and the voyage lasted fourteen weeks. According to the account, the passengers were forced into open boats three times during the voyage.

Churches and Congregations

Blue Earth Congregation was established in 1863 by Pastor T. H. Dahl of the Norwegian Synod and was the oldest Norwegian congregation in the county. Its church was built in 1872. By 1905, Blue Earth County had fourteen Norwegian congregations and eleven churches. Five congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, three to the United Church, three to Hauge’s Synod, two to the Lutheran Free Church, and one to Eielsen’s Society.

Norwegian Institutions

An attempt was made to establish a Norwegian Old Age Home in Mankato.

Public Office

Thron Hoverson Ovedal from Bakke near Mandal was the first Norwegian known to have held public office in Blue Earth County.

Sources:

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