Spokane County, Washington

Early Norwegian Settlement

In the Norwegian settlement at Rockford, Martin Syvertsen from Tromsø was the first Norwegian settler. He settled there in 1886. 

The first Norwegian in the vicinity of Deer Park was John Dahl from Trysil, who arrived in 1888. That same year, J. O. Loe, a blacksmith from Valdres, settled in the village of Fairfield. The source notes humorously that Indians had lived in the neighborhood until that time and jokingly suggests that their departure may have had something to do with Loe’s arrival, referring to the old saying that a blacksmith was not a man to provoke.

Churches and Congregations

The first Norwegian congregation in Spokane County was a Methodist congregation established in Spokane in 1889 by Pastor C. J. Larsen. The congregation built a church that same year, making it the first Norwegian church in the county. By 1905, Spokane County had eight Norwegian congregations and five churches. Three congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, two to the United Church, two to the Methodist Church, and one to the Lutheran Free Church.

Norwegian-American Press and Education

During the 1890s, a Norwegian newspaper, Tidende, was published in Spokane.

In 1905, the United Church decided to establish a high school in Spokane.

Sources:

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