Snohomish County, Washington

Early Norwegian Settlement

Sivert Brekhus from Voss was the first Norwegian settler in Snohomish County. He arrived in 1875.

The pioneer O. B. Iversen later described the Norwegians as a people inclined to travel widely and to overcome difficult natural conditions. In his view, this ability to confront and master obstacles was perhaps a legacy of their Viking ancestry. Iversen regarded the Stillaguamish Valley settlement as the first major Norwegian rural settlement in Washington State, apart from the larger cities. However, the earliest individual Norwegian settlers in the state had already been found in Island County.

The Stillaguamish Valley Settlement

Iversen first visited the Stillaguamish Valley in 1874 while working as a government surveyor. He found the land fertile and still largely untouched. He purchased some land himself and wrote to friends in Dakota about the opportunities there. The following year, about a dozen Norwegian families arrived. They too found the area promising and encouraged friends and relatives to follow. As a result, the valley gradually developed into an overwhelmingly Norwegian settlement. The pioneers faced formidable conditions. Some built dikes to protect the lowlands from the sea, while others cleared the dense virgin forest. Trees measuring twenty to thirty feet in circumference were common, sometimes standing by the dozen or more on a single acre, with almost impenetrable undergrowth between them.

Transportation and Pioneer Conditions

During the first years, transportation was almost entirely by water. Settlers traveled upriver by canoe or rowboat, but rapids and large log jams often made the river difficult or impossible to navigate. Where the river was blocked, paths had to be cut through the forest, boats dragged overland for half a mile or more, and supplies carried on the settlers’ backs. Several years passed before proper roads were built. Road construction was especially difficult because the landscape was covered with enormous fallen trees, some so large that the saws then available were not long enough to cut through them. Mail arrived only occasionally, whenever someone made the trip to Utsalady to collect it. Depending on the weather and river conditions, the journey could take half a day or an entire day.

From Wilderness to Settlement

Despite the hardships, Iversen remembered the pioneer years as happy ones. The settlers cooperated closely and worked toward common goals. In time, a pastor arrived and a church was built. A small town developed around it. Roads were opened, the land was cleared, steamboats began traveling up the river, and eventually the railroad arrived. By 1905, much of the wilderness had disappeared. Iversen reflected that the pioneers could finally enjoy a more settled life, although at times they might still look westward with a sense of longing, only to find the Pacific Ocean before them.

Churches and Congregations

Trefoldigheds Congregation, established at Stanwood in 1875, was the first Norwegian congregation in Snohomish County and, according to the source, the first Norwegian congregation in Washington State. The congregation built its church in 1877, which was likewise described as the first Norwegian church in both the county and the state. Nehem Christensen was the congregation’s first pastor. Christian Jørgensen came to the Stillaguamish area as his assistant as early as 1878. When Christensen temporarily returned east, Jørgensen served for a time as the only Norwegian Lutheran pastor on the Pacific Coast. By 1905, Snohomish County had fifteen Norwegian congregations and eleven churches. Seven congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, three to the Lutheran Free Church, three to the United Church, and two to the Methodist Church.

Public Office

Snohomish County was also home to several Norwegians who became active in political life on the Pacific Coast.

Norwegian Place Names

The post office and railway station named Norman derived its name from the Norwegian settlers.

Sources:

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