Skagit County, Washington

Early Norwegian Settlement

A man named Hanson from Trøndelag settled at La Conner as early as 1869. He came there from British Columbia and had probably previously been a seaman. The source notes that seamen, particularly Norwegians, often traveled widely, but no further information about Hanson could be found. Ole Nilsen Lee from Voss, who still lived in Skagit County by 1905, stated that he had been the first Norwegian and the first white settler in his immediate area. He had lived in California from 1859 to 1876, where he had apparently spent at least part of his time gold mining. In 1876, he moved to Skagit County and settled among the Indians. The first Norwegian sermon in the county was read in his home.

The first Norwegian in the vicinity of Edison was Gustav Volden from Sogndal. Another early settler there was Rasmus S. Johnson from Egersund.

Rasmus S. Johnson’s Journey to America

Johnson recalled that he had crossed the Atlantic aboard a sailing ship. Shortly after the vessel sighted Nova Scotia, it struck ice while traveling at about ten knots. The collision occurred in the middle of the night in complete darkness, causing considerable panic among the passengers, many of whom believed the ship would be lost. The captain eventually calmed them, and it was found that the vessel had suffered no serious damage. The ship nevertheless remained trapped in the ice for fourteen days. After finally reaching land, the emigrants continued toward Chicago in cattle cars. At night, they slept in rows on the floor along the sides of the cars. The journey lasted eight days. There were about 300 emigrants in the group, most of them from the Stavanger area. According to Johnson, none of them wished to repeat the journey.

The principal sources of income for Norwegians in Skagit County were fishing, logging, and farming.

Churches and Congregations

The first Norwegian congregation in the county was established in 1888 by Pastor Christian Jørgensen of the Norwegian Synod. By 1905, Skagit County had eight Norwegian congregations and five churches. Six congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod and two to the United Church.

Sources:

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