Traill County, North Dakota

Early Norwegian Settlement

The first Norwegians in Traill County were Ole Thompson, Torger Thompson, Halvor Bentrud, and Ole Rust, all from Hallingdal, together with Christian Larsen and Carl Larsen from Solør. They came from Mitchell County, Iowa, and settled in the vicinity of Caledonia, along the Red River, in 1871. They were followed by H. Klep from Setesdal; K. Rust and A. Arnesen from Hallingdal; K. Vinge, P. Smith, and H. Hovland from Stavanger; Jens Mikkelsen, together with O. Floberg and E. Floberg from Østerdalen; the Rognlie brothers from Trondheim; Engebret Larsen from Hadeland; P. Herbrandsen, Knut Rauk, J. Ingvaldsen, and S. K. Knutsen, all from Hallingdal; John Ødegaard, Christian Ødegaard, Ole Bredesen, Arne P. Haugen, and Hans Pedersen, all from Solør; G. B. Jacobsen and Jacob Fevold from Stavanger; Thor Hovet, Knut Hovet, Ole Rønnestad, and Ole Jari, likely Jahr, from Setesdal; John Lerum, Erik Thon, Martin Johnson, and Andrew Johnson from Valdres; and many others who spread over a large area.

Pioneer Reunion at Hatton

A number of the early settlers from the Hatton area held their first reunion in 1903. Those present included Ole Benson, Tosten Tufte, Abraham Nilsen, Østen Pladsen, Lewis Thompson, Tosten Klaboe, O. G. Hanson of Northwood, Iver Thompson, M. F. Hegge, Helge Nelson, Nic. Berg, Knut Larson, P. Sponheim, Knut Monson, Thor Stenmo, Guldbrand Melby, Helge Dolve, Ole Fosse, Anders Ness, Thor Koldingness, Sam Thompson, Bendik Benson, Ed Peterson, Knut Halvorson, Arnt Hansen, T. R. Tobiason, Ereik Erstad, John Erstad, Nils Grimson, Grim Grimson, Arne Maaren, Christ Ness, Christ Lyste, Anton Berg, Ole Orland, J. J. Hogen, Halvor Aasen, And. Offerdal, as well as Alb. Coto and Postmaster A. S. Ellingsen of Northwood, and others.

Farming and Markets

The settlers began growing wheat and barley. During the earliest years, they had to haul their harvest by ox team all the way to Alexandria, Minnesota, a journey of almost two hundred miles. Before long, Fargo became their nearest market, reducing the journey to about seventy or eighty miles. By the time this account was written, conditions had changed so greatly that farmers could, as the author put it, practically deliver their produce “at the barn door.”

Knut Olsen Rauk

The Hon. T. H. Thompson of Belmont provided an account of Knut Olsen Rauk, one of the early settlers, who was deceased by the time Thompson wrote. Rauk had been among the first emigrants from Hallingdal. He left Kristiania (Oslo) aboard a sailing ship that first sailed to Le Havre, France, where it remained for six weeks. During the delay, the emigrants consumed most of the food they had brought for the voyage. Because they had little money with which to purchase additional provisions, they eventually went to sea with what little food remained. The ship then went off course and, after wandering the Atlantic for eight weeks, returned to Le Havre.

The authorities there took responsibility for the starving emigrants, after which another attempt was made to reach America. According to Thompson’s account, the entire journey took nine months. By the end, the emigrants were “more like skeletons than humans.” From the coast, the journey continued up the St. Lawrence River and through the Great Lakes. This stage also took considerable time. The vessels of that period were no express liners, and conditions aboard were far from comfortable. Eventually Rauk reached Milwaukee. From there, he continued by ox team and “kubberulle” to Koshkonong, where he found fellow Norwegians and settled for a time.

(The Journey across the Atlantic was on a ship named Elizabeth Bruce in 1846)

Cholera at Koshkonong

Rauk’s circumstances soon became difficult again. A new group of emigrants arrived, bringing cholera with them. A young man from Hallingdal came to Rauk’s home and died there. Rauk, who had been away working, had to return home to arrange the burial. This proved difficult because people were deeply afraid of infection. Their fear was so great that they were also unwilling to employ Rauk afterward. The loss of work created serious difficulties for him and his family.

From Blacksmith to Plow Maker

Eventually, Rauk obtained employment in a plow factory. He had worked as a blacksmith in Norway, but the factory paid him only seven dollars a month, which was insufficient to support a family. He therefore began making plows privately. Unfamiliar with American patent law, however, he copied the design of the plows manufactured by the factory. He had barely delivered the first dozen when a sympathetic neighbor warned him that he might be arrested for patent infringement. That same evening, Rauk and his helpful neighbors devised a solution. During the night, they collected all the plows he had sold, made small alterations to them, and returned them to the buyers. After the changes, his plows no longer closely resembled the patented model, and no action could be taken against him.

Rauk later moved to St. Ansgar in Mitchell County, Iowa, and from there to Belmont, North Dakota. The family became known for its exceptional height and size. According to Thompson, Rauk’s sons were each more than six and a half feet tall and weighed between 270 and 300 pounds. His daughters were not much smaller.

Sidsel Johannesen Kaldor

Traill County was also noted for having within its borders /in 1905) what the author described as North Dakota’s oldest woman, or at least its oldest Norwegian woman. Sidsel Johannesen Kaldor of Hillsboro was born on May 14, 1812.

Churches and Congregations

According to Norge i Amerika, Traill County had twenty-four Norwegian congregations and twenty-one churches in 1900. Nine congregations belonged to the Norwegian Synod, four to the United Church, four to Hauge’s Synod, three to the Lutheran Free Church, two to the Baptist Church, and two to the Methodist Church.

Public Office

Peter Engebretsen was the first Norwegian to hold county office in Traill County. He was elected County Treasurer in 1874. Knute Nomland was the first Norwegian from Traill County to serve in the Legislature. He represented the county in the Dakota Territory Legislature at Yankton in 1881. He was later elected State Treasurer in 1893. John Flittie, whose home was in Mayville, Traill County, at the time, served in the Dakota Territory Senate in 1884. He later died in Williston, North Dakota. The author identified him as North Dakota’s first Norwegian-born Senator. Flittie was also the first Norwegian to hold statewide office in North Dakota, having been elected Secretary of State in 1889.

Norwegian-American Newspapers

Dakota-Bladet, Folkets Røst, Afholds-Basunen, Banneret, Landmanden, Folkets Avis, Statstidende, and Fremtiden.

Education and Charitable Institutions

Bruflat Academy, a Norwegian school in Mayville, was established in 1889.

The Norwegian Hospital was established in Hillsboro and the Bruflat Academy in Portland.

Norwegian Place Names

Townships with Norwegian names in Traill County included Norman and Norway.

Sources:

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