Pembina County, North Dakota

The First Norwegian Settler in North Dakota

The first Norwegian to settle in the state of North Dakota was N. E. Nelson, father-in-law of the well-known politician Jud La Moure. Nelson was appointed Customs Collector at Pembina in 1869 and had lived there ever since. He was also the first homesteader in the state. The first land claim in North Dakota had been made by a Norwegian. By 1907, North Dakota had also become, in proportion to its population, the most Norwegian state in the Union. At least one-third of the state’s total population was of Norwegian origin.

Pembina Township and St. Thomas

In Pembina Township, where Nelson had originally taken land, there was only one Norwegian farmer in 1904, P. Haugen. In the vicinity of St. Thomas, however, a Norwegian settlement had developed. Chas. Seversen was the first Norwegian settler there. He came from the Bergen area and settled in 1880.

Settlement near Hensel

The first Norwegian settler in the Hensel area, where there were also several Norwegian settlers, was Andreas O. Andersen from Telemark. He settled there in 1881.

Public Office

Andrew Nelson, brother of N. E. Nelson, was the first Norwegian to hold county office in Pembina County. He served as County Attorney, or District Attorney as the office was called in North Dakota.

Churches and Congregations

The first Norwegian congregation in Pembina County was established at St. Thomas in 1881 by Pastor J. Lønne of the Conference. Its church was built in 1890. In 1904, Pembina County had seven Norwegian congregations and three churches. Five congregations belonged to the United Church and two to the Baptist Church.

Sources:

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