La Crosse County, Wisconsin

Early Norwegian Settlement

According to several accounts, John Anderson (Bekkemelum) and Christian Ekern, both from Biri, were the first Norwegian settlers in La Crosse County. They came from Dane County and settled in Lewis Valley in 1850. Later that same year came Ouden Evenson from Ringsaker.

In 1851, the following settlers arrived in Bostwick Valley: Mons Anderson, Stengrim Olsen, and Lars Knudsen Bye from Valdres; Henry R. Solberg and Charles B. Solberg from Lillehammer; Børre Støen and Ole Støen from Ringsaker; as well as John Kjøs, Lars Olstad, Hans Gunderschwein, O. Nelson, Paul Tollefsen, Lars Strand, Christian Hulberg, and G. Onrud, whose birthplaces in Norway were unknown to the author. Mons Anderson later moved to the city of La Crosse, where he established himself as a businessman. He founded and for many years owned what the author described as the largest store west of Chicago.

Pioneer Travel in Bostwick Valley

It was said of the first settlers in Bostwick Valley that when they reached steep hills with their loaded wagons, they unhitched the oxen and lowered the wagons and their loads down the slopes with strong ropes. Wheat, oats, and potatoes became the county’s principal agricultural products. Daily wages at the time ranged from fifty to seventy-five cents.

The First Norwegian Hotel in La Crosse

Colonel A. Knudsen, a Civil War veteran who later lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota, had operated what he described as “the first Norwegian hotel” in La Crosse. Among his guests were P. Jelm Hansen, Minister Schrøder, Editor Fleischer, Dr. Høeg, and Sheriff Solberg.

Engel Thompson Ringøen’s Voyage to America

Engel Thompson Ringøen, one of the early settlers at Beaver Creek, where many Norwegians later lived, recalled his voyage to America aboard the bark Hebe from Bergen in 1858:

“We had a devil of a time, you can be sure. The ship heeled and rolled so violently that every joint seemed to creak. Most of the passengers were seasick, and everywhere one could hear moaning and complaining. Some were in complete despair. In the weak light from the lanterns in the cabin, people could be seen in every imaginable position, partly or completely stretched out, clinging to the walls so they would not join the chests, boxes, and milk cans rattling wildly around the steerage. The lids had come off some of the milk cans, and their contents had poured out. One man entered the cabin, saw the mess, and exclaimed, ‘Lord help us, look at all the skyr that has been lost!’ This and much else brought some humor to those of us who were healthier and more accustomed to the sea. Sadly, however, the comic was mixed with tragedy. That night, amid all the commotion, our company was increased by another emigrant, a little girl.”

The First Years in Wisconsin:

After reaching Wisconsin, Thompson hoped to forget the hardships of the voyage when he reached what he called the “meat pots” of Stoughton. He was disappointed. The Norwegian farmers there had not yet become prosperous. He recalled, for example, that he had to perform construction work for thirty cents a day. Conditions improved after the teacher John A. Johnson (Skivnes), who later became a State Senator, taught him enough English to work wherever employment was available.

J. Stammerud’s Journey to La Crosse County, 1853

In August 1853, J. Stammerud of Furnes wrote from La Crosse County, Wisconsin, describing the long journey that had brought him, his wife, and child from Norway to the American Midwest. Stammerud had left Christiania aboard the Tønsberg on May 4, together with several other emigrants from Hedmark and Christians Amt. After a difficult Atlantic crossing, the ship reached Quebec on July 22. The emigrants left the vessel three days later. Cholera was then spreading through Quebec and many of the towns along the routes westward, and the party therefore continued inland without visiting the city. Their onward transportation was arranged through a railway and steamship line managed by Stangeland, who met the emigrants in Quebec and provided them with an interpreter. Stammerud later stressed the importance of having a trustworthy guide, noting that travel through America would otherwise have been far more difficult and expensive for newly arrived immigrants who did not speak English.

The journey west proved dangerous. At Buffalo, the emigrants spent the night and much of the following day in a railway depot. There, one member of their party from Toten contracted cholera and died. From Buffalo they traveled by steamboat to Monroe and from there by railroad to Chicago, arriving on August 1. Two more members of the party became ill with cholera and had to remain behind in Chicago. The disease had followed them throughout much of the journey. A woman from Valdres had already contracted cholera at Quebec and had been forced to remain there with her family. The party continued by rail toward Rock Island. At one station, a group of Irishmen entered the cars and, according to Stammerud, attempted to provoke quarrels and extort money from the travelers. A railway guard intervened before the situation developed further.

Stammerud also reported hearing that two Swedish emigrants who had left the train at the same place were found murdered the following day in a spring or well. Despite these experiences, Stammerud remained positive about his decision to emigrate. Writing from La Crosse County on August 16, 1853, he stated that neither he nor his wife had regretted the journey and that both had remained in good health. He had already seen both fertile and poor land, but considered himself too unfamiliar with the country to form a definite opinion about America. At the time of writing, he was negotiating to purchase land. Government land was becoming difficult to obtain in the area because speculators had already acquired much of it. For Stammerud and many emigrants like him, La Crosse County was therefore not simply the end of a long journey. It was the place where the next stage began: finding land, establishing a home, and deciding whether America would fulfill the expectations that had brought them across the Atlantic.

Churches and Congregations

A Norwegian Lutheran congregation was established in La Crosse County in 1856. It covered a large area, including Half Way Creek, Lewis Valley, La Crosse Valley, and Bostwick Valley. Pastor H. A. Stub was its first pastor. By 1905, La Crosse County had twenty-two Norwegian congregations and nineteen churches. Ten congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, six to the United Church, three to the Lutheran Free Church, two to the Methodist Church, and one to the Baptist Church.

Public Office

Henry L. Solberg of La Crosse was the first Norwegian to hold a county office. He was elected Sheriff in 1859.

A. C. Hansen of Mindoro was the first Norwegian to represent La Crosse County in the State Legislature. He was elected in 1900.

Norwegian Newspapers and Periodicals

Fædrelandet og Emigranten, Illustrert Børneblad, Amerika, Varden, Folkevennen, Det Udflyttede Norge, La Crosse Tidende, and Indremissionæren, all of which were published in La Crosse for shorter or longer periods.

Educational and Charitable Institutions

Lutheran College, began at Half Way Creek in 1861, and the La Crosse Norwegian Lutheran Hospital, was established in 1902.

Norwegian Place Names

Only one Norwegian place name: Holmen, a post office.

Sources:

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

[Christiania Intelligentssedler 1854.10.28]