Ramsey County, Minnesota

Early Norwegian Presence in St. Paul

Who the first Norwegians in Ramsey County were is not known. The county includes Minnesota’s capital, St. Paul.

St. Paul and neighboring St. Anthony Falls, now Minneapolis, marked the western edge of settled civilization until the end of the 1840s. West of these cities, divided by the Mississippi River, there were virtually no white settlements until one reached the Mormon communities of Utah and the fortune seekers and adventurers on the Pacific Coast. It is fairly certain, however, that Norwegian laborers were working in the sawmills of St. Paul by the early 1850s. By that time, the flow of immigrants into Minnesota had also become substantial, especially through the Twin Cities.

John A. Hansen and the First Railroad Bridge

John A. Hansen from Mo i Rana had the distinction of working on the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River in Minnesota, built at St. Paul in 1867. He had previously worked as a ship carpenter. According to Hansen, however, the arrival of the railroads and their bridges ruined shipping. Hansen has been mentioned earlier under Polk County, Wisconsin, where he was one of the first settlers and where he was still living when this account was written.

Churches and Congregations

The first Norwegian congregation in St. Paul, and in Ramsey County, was established in 1858 by Pastor Laur. Larsen, later a professor, of the Norwegian Synod. For a time, Larsen served the congregation from Rush River, Wisconsin, where he was then pastor.

The first Norwegian minister to settle permanently in St. Paul was O. A. Norman, also of the Norwegian Synod. He took over the congregation in 1869. Until then, it had been served by itinerant ministers. Its church, the first Norwegian church in both the city and county, was built in 1881.

By about 1907, Ramsey County had eleven Norwegian congregations and nine churches. Two congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, two to Hauge’s Synod, two were Independent Lutheran, one belonged to the United Church, one to the Lutheran Free Church, one to the Evangelical Free Church, one to the Methodist Church, and one to the Baptist Church.

Newspapers and Institutions

Norwegian-American Newspapers and Periodicals: Nordvesten, Theologisk Tidskrift, Jubilate, Smuler, Valdris Helsing, Den Evangeliske Basun, Heimdal, St. Paul Tidende, and others.

The Norwegian Synod’s seminary, Luther Seminary, at Hamline; the United Church’s seminary at St. Paul Park; and Luther Hospital in St. Paul.

Scandinavians at the State Agricultural College: At the State Agricultural College, Scandinavians generally ranked first, something the author considered highly significant. That Scandinavians were regarded as practical farmers was already well known. What was less widely recognized was that they also ranked at the top in the theoretical study of agriculture.

Sources:

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