Olmsted County, Minnesota

The First Norwegian Settlers

The “discoverers” of this large area in Olmsted and Dodge Counties, which later became heavily settled by Norwegians, were Tollef Olsen Solberg and Nils Nilsen Siere, both from Gol in Hallingdal; Aaron Anderson from the Trondheim area; Even Halvorsen Holtan from Telemark; and Enver Nelson from Land. They came from Koshkonong, Wisconsin, and settled in the vicinity of Byron and Rock Dell in 1854. They were therefore not merely the “discoverers” of the area but the founders of the settlement. They were soon followed by C. Tvedt, C. Helliksen, Ole Weggar, and A. Weggar, all from Telemark; B. Larsen from Sogn; O. Bensont from Valdres; O. Amundsen from Numedal; and H. Brekke, H. Stensrud, and Ole Solberg, the last three from Hallingdal.

They spread across a large area, each settling on a quarter section that included both woodland and prairie.

Churches and Congregations

The St. Olaf Congregation at Rock Dell was established in 1857 by Pastor C. L. Clausen, who at that time belonged to the Norwegian Synod. It was the first Norwegian congregation in the county. L. Steen was its first resident pastor. The congregation’s church was built in 1869.

By about 1907, there were five Norwegian churches and five congregations in the county. Two congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, one to the United Church, one to the Lutheran Free Church, and one to Hauge’s Synod.

Public Office

B. L. Bratager was the first Norwegian to hold public office. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1858.

Adolph Bierman was the first Norwegian county official. He was elected County Auditor in 1866 and, in 1890, was elected State Auditor.

Norwegian Place Names

Post offices with Norwegian names included Ringe and Hanson.

Sources:

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