Norman County, Minnesota

The First Norwegian Settlements

Norman County was first settled by Norwegians in 1871. Some established themselves along the Marsh River near Halstad and Shelby in the western part of the county, while others settled near Twin Valley in the eastern part.

The first Norwegian settlers along the Marsh River were Engel Løvsnes, N. R. Hage, and R. R. Hage, all from the Stavanger area. They came from Newburg in Fillmore County. They were soon followed by L. L. Hauske, L. B. Larsen, H. Henderson, Jacob Hesby, Jonas T. Redland, and A. Thompson, all from the Stavanger area; A. O. Paulson, Sivert Paulson, Ole Paulson, Ole Halstad, John Grothe, P. A. Paulson, and Paul Olson, all from the Trondheim area; H. L. Gordon from Numedal; Andrew Hawkins from Valdres; and Anders Golberg from Hallingdal.

Some of these settlers came from Fillmore County, Minnesota, while the others came from Coon Prairie, Wisconsin. Most were married men who brought their families with them in ox-drawn wagons, together with some livestock. They reached their future homes early in the summer. By October, however, the men had to make a long journey to obtain flour and other supplies needed for the winter. Alexandria was the nearest place where these necessities could be obtained, and the trip took three weeks. Their first harvest, in 1872, brought them little benefit because the grasshoppers consumed it. The insects ate not only the wheat and potatoes intended for the settlers but even the grass, leaving little for the livestock.

Grasshoppers returned in later years as well, but only in 1872 did they strip the land almost completely bare. Great quantities of wheat were later produced in the Red River Valley, which became known as one of the richest wheat-growing regions in the world.

The Settlement at Twin Valley

The eastern part of Norman County was settled at about the same time as the western part.

Martin Johnson from Røyken parish was the first Norwegian settler near Twin Valley. He came from Vernon County, Wisconsin. He was followed by Jonas Hommelvik near Trondheim; Peder Hille from Stjørdal; Peder Waller from Solør; Søren Bergersen from Odalen; Jens G. Urdahl from Sogn; Ole Fordal from Trondheim; Mrs. Enger from Risør and her brothers Johannes, John, and Jens; as well as Nils Nilsen, Nikolai Overgaard, Gulbrand Haakonson, Ole Hansen, Andreas Hansen, Martin Johansen, Hans Aamodt, Johannes Lien, and Haakon Benson.

The Settlement at Perley

The first Norwegian settlers near Perley, in the northwestern part of the county, were Ole J. Lee from Smaalenene, G. J. Krosby, Johan Jacobsen, and Mrs. Krogstad, together with their families.

P. O. Herreid’s Voyage to America

P. O. Herreid of Twin Valley recalled his voyage to America:

“I came to America by sailing ship in 1857. While we were at sea, a remarkable event occurred. One day, in the middle of the Atlantic, an emigrant from Bergen fell overboard. The wind was strong, and the ship was making about thirteen miles per hour. Panic immediately spread among the passengers as people cried out for the missing man, wondering where their father or brother had gone. A life ring had been thrown into the water, and because the man was a good swimmer, he managed to reach it. The ship turned around, and although the waves were as high as the mastheads, the emigrant was rescued.”

The First Mill at Wild Rice

A pamphlet published by a number of enterprising settlers in the vicinity of Wild Rice preserved several stories about pioneer life there.

During the winter, timber was cut, and in the spring the neighbors gathered to help Søren Olsen build a mill at Wild Rice. Work on a simple flour and sawmill began in 1876. The mill was extremely primitive. Johan Mattson, described as a clever man, expressed his doubts when he saw the waterwheel of the sawmill:

“If that wheel can drive a saw, then pigs might fly!”

Because the mill had to be built on the north side of the river, settlers living on the south side had to transport their wheat and flour across the river by boat. Not everyone was experienced in handling a boat, and this led to a number of comical incidents. On one occasion, John Narum lost his entire load in the river while traveling to the mill. Ole Holum also attempted the crossing by boat. Since he knew little about rowing, the current carried him downstream while he shouted and complained. The settlers therefore attempted to build a bridge. Olsen obtained the materials, and the neighbors gathered to erect it. The following spring, however, when the ice broke up, the bridge was swept away as though it had been made of straw.

A few years later, a young miller named Jørgen Heiberg came to the settlement. He was the son of merchant J. Heiberg of Bergen, Norway. Olsen sold him the mill together with everything belonging to it. Heiberg was unmarried and employed a very cheerful servant girl to look after his household. One Sunday evening, she crossed the river to collect the mail and other items for Mr. Heiberg. Because it became late and dark, she remained overnight on the opposite side. Early Monday morning, she was to return, and Olsen intended to take her across. Unfortunately, someone had taken the boat to the other side of the river. Olsen therefore planned to cross in a canoe and retrieve it. The servant girl, however, did not wish to wait. Before Olsen realized what was happening, she had climbed into the canoe with him. The result was that everything ended up in the river: Olsen, the girl, the mail, the cream, and the eggs. The girl held on to the canoe, but the only parts of her visible above the water were her nose and the feathers in her hat.

Many similar stories could be told about those early years, but these examples are enough to illustrate the conditions under which the settlers lived.

The Grasshopper Invasion of 1876

John Narum described the arrival of the grasshoppers in 1876:

“In 1875, the grasshoppers had laid no eggs, and we began to believe that we would be free of them. In the spring of 1876, we saw nothing of them until the beginning of July. Everything looked excellent. The oats, barley, and wheat were doing well, and we all had high hopes. “One Sunday morning, probably July 9, I accompanied Kristian Olson and John Grønøen, who was then living at Fossum, westward across Sections 6 and 8 in Home Lake Township, where Mr. Grønøen wanted to look at some land. After looking over the land, we went north to Peter Skjægrud’s home to rest for a while and have a visit, since at that time we did not have many neighbors to call on.

The weather was beautiful and sunny, and everything looked peaceful and promising. We arrived at Skjægrud’s shortly after noon. Mrs. Skjægrud immediately began preparing dinner for us. After the meal, as we were leaving the table, Mrs. Skjægrud, who was looking out the door, suddenly exclaimed, ‘But look, it is snowing!’ We went outside to see, and it was indeed falling white, wet, and thick over the fields and trees, just as though it were February. The sky was so full of it that we could hardly see the sun. It soon became clear what kind of snow it was. It was nothing but grasshoppers. They came in such numbers that within an hour the fields and pastures were completely covered.

When we later left Skjægrud’s, he came with us to see what effect the arrival of the grasshoppers had produced. They covered the fields so thickly that we could see our footprints with every step we took. I took off my jacket and tied the sleeves. Then, with Mr. Skjægrud holding one side and me the other, we ran against the wind to see how many grasshoppers we could catch. We had not gone very far before the sleeves were so full that they could hold no more. That gives some idea of how many there were.

They remained until Thursday morning, when a brisk west wind began to blow. Then they gradually disappeared, one after another, until within a few hours only a few remained here and there. By then, however, they had done their work. The barley was completely gone, with nothing remaining except about an inch of stalk. They had taken only some of the loose leaves from the wheat, while the heads remained. We therefore had a good wheat harvest after all. I had four acres and harvested eighty bushels.

“We have not seen any grasshoppers since then, at least not on the ground, and we hope that we never see them again.”

Churches and Congregations

The Marsh River Congregation at Halstad was established in 1872 by Pastor B. Hagbø, who at that time belonged to the Conference. It was the first Norwegian congregation in Norman County. The congregation built the first church there in 1874.

The Wild Rice Congregation at Fossum was established in 1873 by Pastor K. Bjørgo of the Norwegian Synod. It was the first Norwegian congregation in the eastern part of the county.

By about 1907, Norman County had no fewer than forty-one Norwegian congregations and thirty-eight churches. Twenty-three congregations belonged to the United Church, ten to the Norwegian Synod, five to Hauge’s Synod, two to the Methodist Church, and one to the Evangelical Free Church.

Public Office

Alexander Rønning was the first Norwegian county official. He was elected County Auditor in 1880.

N. L. Nelson and Sverre J. Lee were the first Norwegians to represent Norman County in the State Legislature. They were elected in 1894.

Newspapers and Institutions

The newspaper Vidnesbyrd fra Broderkredsen was established at Twin Valley in 1890. Folkets Blad was established at Ada in 1890.

The Wild Rice Children’s Home at Fossum was organized in 1899.

Norwegian Place Names

Norman County received its name from Norwegians, which is hardly surprising considering how many Norwegians lived there.

Townships with Norwegian names included Anthony, Flom, Fossum, Halstad, Hegne, Hendrum, Lee, Strand, and Sundahl.

Post offices with Norwegian names included Aaby, Anthony, Flom, Folkedahl, Fossum, Halstad, Heiberg, Hegne, Hendrum, Ranum, Strand, Ringdahl, Sundahl, and Ullman.

By 1907 several of these post offices had been closed because Rural Free Delivery, or R.F.D., had replaced many of the smaller local post offices.

Sources:

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