Oklahoma State

Norwegian Settlement

A small group of Norwegians lived at Grimes in Roger Mills County. Nils Mathiasen appears to have been the first Norwegian settler there, although the source does not state when he arrived in Oklahoma. Cotton, corn, wheat, and sweet potatoes were among the principal agricultural products in the area.

Gustav Andersen’s Account

Gustav Andersen from Trøndelag, living in Sayre, Oklahoma, described the long migration that eventually brought him and his wife to the territory (Sailed from Trondheim on the Neptunus). They emigrated from Norway by sailing ship in 1869 and lived in Wisconsin for eleven years before moving to Kingsbury County, South Dakota, where they took a homestead. Life there proved difficult. During their first winter, so much snow fell that the railroad was blocked from mid-January until May 8. Food supplies became scarce, and many settlers had to grind wheat in coffee mills. Andersen had no horse or ox, only a cow, and for fuel he relied on hay that he carried or dragged across the hard-packed snow with a rope. He also had to travel long distances to obtain hay for both the cow and the household. Two years later, in 1882, a severe drought began and lasted for three years. The family suffered considerable hardship, although conditions eventually improved. After living in South Dakota for eleven years, Andersen and several others decided to leave because of the harsh climate. They moved to Tennessee, believing it to be a more promising place to settle, and took all their possessions with them. The move ended badly. According to Andersen, they had been misled by fraudulent land agents who used recommendations from pastors and newspapers to promote land that proved worthless. After losing much of what they owned, Andersen and his wife eventually moved to Oklahoma, where they had lived for six years by 1905.

Andersen explained that he wrote his account mainly as a warning to others considering relocation. He advised prospective settlers not to trust the promises of land agents blindly, but to inspect the land themselves before buying. He also urged them not to sell their old homes until they were certain they had found a new place where they could be satisfied.

Sources:

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