Linn County, Iowa

Norwegian Settlement

The first Norwegian in Linn County was probably August Jacobsen, an Østlending who came from Madison, Wisconsin, and settled in Cedar Rapids as a merchant in 1866. Sivert Brække, also from Eastern Norway, established himself there as a merchant at about the same time, but later moved to Nebraska. Other early Norwegian residents included machinist Iver Steffensen from Kvinnherad; shoemaker Geo. M. Johnson from Trondheim; former Sheriff Martin Evans, who later became manager of the streetcar line; and Mrs. Ida Hansen, editor of Kvinden og Hjemmet.

There was no distinct Norwegian settlement in Linn County, only a number of scattered Norwegian families. Among the best-known Norwegians in the county, and indeed in the state as a whole, was attorney B. L. Wick from Stavanger.

Norwegian Publications

The magazine Kvinden og Hjemmet was published in Cedar Rapids.

Sources:

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