Taylor County, Wisconsin

Early Norwegian Settlement

Taylor County never had a large Norwegian population, but a number of Norwegians did settle there. Crist Danielsen from Kristiania (Oslo) opened a store in Medford in 1870, and his brother Nils arrived at the same time. Shortly afterward came Gullick Olsen from Bamble; Andrew Petersen and Isak Jesperson from Skien; Simon Eriksen from Nordland; John Nelson from Tønsberg; and a schoolteacher named Ole Lee, whose birthplace was unknown.

They settled in the forest at Little Black, a few miles from Medford, in an area where wild animals and Indians were still present. The forest was dense and there were no roads, so the settlers had to cut their way through. Tools, household equipment, and other necessities had to be carried in by hand. Before long, however, they had cleared enough land to produce hay, potatoes, and vegetables.

John Nelson was the first among them to acquire a pair of oxen. He had already led an unusually varied life. He went to sea at the age of sixteen and visited many distant ports, enlisted in the United States Navy during the Civil War, served for three and a half years, and took part in eight battles. He later joined an American mission to Japan, where he remained for five years, before eventually settling in the forests of northern Wisconsin.

Churches and Congregations

Little Black Congregation was established in 1880 by Pastor L. A. Breen and later belonged to the United Church. It was the first Norwegian congregation in Taylor County. The congregation built the first Norwegian church in the county in 1885. By 1905, Taylor County had two Norwegian congregations, each with its own church, and both belonged to the United Church.

Sources:

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