Faribault County, Minnesota

Early Settlement

Knut Thompsen Trovatten of Vinje, Telemark, was the first known Norwegian settler in Faribault County. He established his homestead in the vicinity of Delavan in 1855. No other Norwegians accompanied him, and for several years he remained the county's only Norwegian settler.

Among the first Norwegian settlers in the Blue Earth City area were Ole Nilsen Hundery, Anders Tenhold, Gilbert Gilbertson, and Ole Johnson, all from Sogn, together with C. C. Hamre, Jeff Amundsen, and Stener Mikkelsen, whose places of origin in Norway are unknown. By the time this account was compiled (ca. 1905), Mikkelsen had died, while Hamre was living in Blue Earth and Amundsen in Frost.

The pioneers' first homes were dugouts and log cabins. Wheat soon became the principal source of income. Their nearest market was Hastings, about 120 miles away, and they relied on oxen for both transportation and plowing.

Churches and Community Life

Jackson Lake Congregation, organized at Delavan in 1862 by Pastor B. J. Muus of the Norwegian Synod, was the first Norwegian congregation in the county. Its church was completed in 1870. By about 1905, Faribault County was home to thirteen Norwegian congregations served by nine churches. Five congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, four to the United Church, three to Hauge's Synod, and one to Elling Eielsen's Society.

Fred P. Brown (Brun) of Kopervik was the first Norwegian to hold public office in the county, having been elected Register of Deeds in 1872. The first Norwegian to represent Faribault County in the Minnesota State Legislature was T. S. Wraalie of Telemark, who was elected in 1878.

Post offices bearing Norwegian names included Homedahl and Olesen.

Sources:

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