Iroquois County, Illinois

The Beaver Creek Settlement

The Norwegian settlement at Beaver Creek was founded in 1837 by Ole Rynning, Nils Langeland, Gunder Midbøen, Erik Midbøen, Mons Adland, Knud Adland, and several other recently arrived immigrants. The settlers came during a dry season, when the land appeared grassy, fertile, and well suited for settlement. They did not realize, however, that the low-lying area was subject to flooding during wetter seasons and in winter. When the rains came, conditions deteriorated rapidly. Flooding was followed by disease and death, and only a few of the settlers managed to leave the area. The Beaver Creek settlement consequently became one of the most tragic of the early Norwegian colonies in Illinois.

Ole Rynning

Ole Rynning devoted himself to helping the sick and dying settlers and their families. According to the source, he waded through icy water to visit them until he himself became seriously ill and died. His grave was unmarked, and the author was unable to identify anyone who knew its location. Rynning was the son of Pastor Jens Rynning of Snåsa and a brother of the mother of Pastor Bernt J. Muus. He had studied at the University of Kristiania (Oslo) and was described by the source as the first Norwegian to work as an author in America.

The other settlers at Beaver Creek came mainly from Upper Telemark and from the Stavanger and Bergen regions.

Sources:

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