Juneau County, Wisconsin

Early Norwegian Settlement

The first Norwegian settlers in Juneau County were Nils Bjørnson, Ole Gjermundsen, and Ole Johnson, all from Upper Telemark. They came from Dane County and settled in the vicinity of Mauston in 1850. Later that same year came Knudt Ormson from Suldal, as well as Knudt Mikkelsen and Anders Mikkelsen from Røldal. The settlers built log cabins and began clearing the land, which was difficult because the area was heavily forested. Wheat farming became their principal source of income. The wheat had to be hauled to Portage, about forty miles away, by ox team.

Valders Prairie

Timon Aslaksen from Vestre Slidre, Valdres, was the first Norwegian settler in the vicinity of Miner. He also came from Dane County, Wisconsin. He settled at Miner in 1857. Later that year came Lewis Larsen from Hurdal. This settlement became known as Valders Prairie.

Ole Olsen Bordalen

Ole Olsen Bordalen from Telemark, who died at Fountain in 1904, was regarded at the time as the oldest Norwegian in America. He was born in 1799 and was therefore about 105 years old when he died. According to the account, he had never once needed a doctor during his long life. He had, however, been blind for eighteen years. (A woman had since become the oldest person in the country. See the section on Barron County, Wisconsin.)

Lemonweir Lutheran Congregation

The Lemonweir Lutheran Congregation, established by Pastor H. A. Preus in 1854, was the oldest Norwegian congregation in Juneau County. The original call letter read as follows:

“To Herr Pastor Phrøis:

Since we live in a small colony some distance from the other Norwegian settlements and have not, since we began settling here, received a visit from a Norwegian pastor, we are all agreed and sincerely wish that we might have the pleasure of seeing a Norwegian pastor visit our colony once or twice a year. Since you already travel at various times to visit the Norwegian colony north of Portage, which lies partly along the Wisconsin River, the journey from there to our settlement should not be too long. From sand Prairie, from its bridge to our colony, it is two miles in a northwesterly direction through Adams County to where we live, in what is called the Town of Lisabon in Lemonweir. We therefore all hope that you might make a journey here this summer so that we can speak with you about the matter described above. We have begun building a schoolhouse here, and beside it we have selected a site for a church that we would like to have dedicated. Since we hope that our request can be fulfilled, we would appreciate an answer telling us when you might be able to come and how much you would ask for each journey here. We are twelve settlers and about forty-three persons.

Adams County, Town of Lisabon, May 22, 1854.

We will now sign our names, as many of us as are present while this letter is being written. We all send our greetings and hope that we shall see you this summer. Farewell. Lemmonvier, Town of Lisabon, May 22, 1854.

John Halvorsen, Knud Ormson, Ole Jhanson, Nils Bjørnsen, Gunder Johansen, Laurans Augondsen, Andres Mikelsen

The address of our settlement:

Seven Mile Creek, Adams County, Wis." 

At the bottom of the letter, Pastor H. A. Preus had written the following pencil notes describing part of the route from Spring Prairie to Lemonweir:

“12 miles from Kingsberry Tavern — no road.

10 miles from Rogger’s (dger’s) Mill — has road."

Churches and Congregations

The first Norwegian church in Juneau County was built by the Lemonweir Congregation in 1861. By 1905, the county had six Norwegian congregations and six churches. Three congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod and three to the United Church.

Public Office

Odd Larson of Mauston was the first Norwegian to hold public office in Juneau County. He was elected County Treasurer in 1884.

Norwegian Place Names

For a time, Juneau County had a post office named Suldal, after Suldal in Ryfylke.

Sources:

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