Pope County, Minnesota

The First Norwegian Settlers

The first Norwegian settlers in Pope County were John Johnson Sandvig and Greger Halvorsen, both from Telemark, and Salve Olsen Gakkestad from Setesdal. They came from Scandinavia, Wisconsin, and settled near a lake that they named Lake Johanna, a name it still bears. This was in 1860. Later that same year came Olaus Olsen from Kragerø and Ole Kittelsen Evretvet from Setesdal. They were followed by Ole Reina and Halvor Hjelstad from Telemark; Iver O. Rønning and Hans Engebretsen from Gudbrandsdalen; Torger Besteland, Knut Torgersen, And. Torgersen, Gunder Olsen, and Knut Wisnæs, all from Setesdal; Ole Livdalen from Hallingdal; Ole Pedersen from Valdres; Nils N. Barsness, O. N. Barsness, and E. N. Barsness from Sogn; and later a number of settlers from Telemark, including Knut Simon, Børre Olsen, Aslak Swensen, and Aslak Ovesen. Other settlers included Martin Ranvig from Kongsvinger and the brothers Wollan, Anton Holte, and Andreas Schey, all from Stod near Trondheim.

The settlers spread out in different directions, including Gilchrist, Barsness, Starbuck, and Glenwood.

The Settlements at Lowry and Cyrus

Nils Mikkelsen from Røros was the first Norwegian settler near Lowry. He settled there in 1864. Torsten Hovde from Gjerdahls parish, who arrived the year after Mikkelsen, recalled that crane flies were their worst enemy. They were so troublesome that, had they not diminished during the first two years, the settlers would have been forced to leave the area. Christian Johnson was the first Norwegian settler at Cyrus. He came from Iowa and slept outdoors for two months.

Pioneer Life

Wheat farming and cattle raising were the principal sources of income for the new settlers. In addition, they trapped muskrats, for which they received good prices. Their nearest markets were St. Cloud and Sauk Centre, between fifty and seventy-five miles from their respective homes. As in many other pioneer settlements, the first residents of Pope County lived in dugouts and log cabins during the early years. Oxen were their only means of plowing the fields and transporting goods.

Glenwood

The following poem was written by veteran A. Torguson of Glenwood:

“Glenwood, beautiful Glenwood, that lovely little place,

Like a crown it lies in a charming vale,

On the lovely shore of Minnewaska’s waters,

Like a mirror it reflects the heavens!”

The Indian Scare of 1875

Halvor Ericksen from Nordre Aurdal, Valdres, one of the early settlers in Pope County and later a resident of Thief River Falls, Minnesota, recalled an incident that took place on July 10, 1875. That day, he and the others had gone out as usual to break new land. Suddenly, they noticed a group of riders approaching at unusual speed and then spreading out in different directions toward the neighboring farms. One of the riders came directly to them and shouted that they must unhitch the oxen from the plow because it was a matter of life and death. The White Earth Indians, he said, had left their reservation and were moving southward, killing and plundering as they went. The rider also ordered all the settlers to assemble at Ole Ericksen’s place, where there was considerable forest and a good defensive position between two lakes. The isthmus between the lakes provided enough room for both people and livestock, and a strong guard could be established there.

He added:

“Take whatever weapons and ammunition you have.”

Then he rode on as fast as his exhausted horse could carry him.

The settlers hurried to pack their most important possessions and went to the designated gathering place. Several hundred people had already assembled there and had fortified the position with wagons, boxes, sacks, furniture, and whatever else was available. They also had a good supply of shotguns and rifles, as well as axes and hay forks that could be used if necessary. Fortunately, their fears proved unfounded. The Indians did not get far that time. Three white settlers, none of them Norwegian, had previously been killed by Indians in Pope County during the first period of immigration, and the remaining pioneers had been driven away. They later returned. 

Daniel Anderson’s Voyage and Early Life at Lake Johanna

Daniel Anderson from Ibestad, Nordland, one of the early settlers at Lake Johanna, recalled his voyage to America:

“I was one of those who emigrated by sailing ship. It took us seventeen weeks to travel from Bodø to Quebec. There was plague and other sickness aboard, and many bodies were buried at sea. We also suffered from hunger because the voyage lasted so long and because there were so many of us, about nine hundred people, most of them from Helgeland and Namdalen. During the first winter, we lived in our small dugouts. Indians and people of mixed ancestry were our neighbors, and during the summer there were swarms of them. They carried their birch-bark canoes on their heads. One of our worst nuisances was the mosquitoes. In the afternoons, the swarms could become so thick that we could not see the sun through them.”

Anderson also recalled the high cost of supplies:

“At that time, we paid seventeen to eighteen dollars for a barrel of flour, forty-five to fifty dollars for a cow, about three hundred dollars for a pair of draft oxen, six dollars for an eight-foot ox chain, one dollar and fifty cents for an axe, and one dollar for a milk pail.”

Churches and Congregations

By about 1907, Pope County had twenty-four Norwegian congregations and nineteen churches. Fourteen congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, six to the United Church, and four to the Lutheran Free Church.

Public Office

Andrew Torguson Vesteland was the first Norwegian to hold public office in the county. He was elected Coroner in 1866.

Isaac Thorson was the first Norwegian legislator from Pope County. He represented the county in the State Legislature in 1869.

Schools and Newspapers

A Norwegian high school was established in Glenwood in 1894.

Fakkelen was the name of a Norwegian newspaper published in Pope County for a short time during the 1890s.

Norwegian Place Names

Places with Norwegian names included Barsness, Eggen, Hoff, Hoverud, Langhei, Scandiaville, Trysil, Fron, Thorsen, and Nora.

Sources:

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