Utah County, Utah

Early Norwegian Settlement

The first Norwegian settler in Utah County was John Olsen, who settled at Salem. He had crossed the Atlantic to America by sailing ship and was regarded as one of the early pioneers.

One of the early Norwegian settlers later recalled a difficult voyage to America by sailing ship. While the vessel was in the Atlantic, it encountered a hurricane that lasted almost three days. The violent motion of the ship caused considerable chaos below deck, where passengers, chests, barrels, and other baggage were thrown against one another.

One passenger from Rennesøy (in 1871) had taken a keg of ale into his berth. During the storm, the keg rolled over the edge. When he tried to catch it, he fell to the deck along with it. According to the account, he later joked that the incident was no worse than if the keg itself had merely tipped over. (See the ship Atalanta for more)

Religious Life

By 1905, there was a small Norwegian-Danish Methodist congregation in the county.

Andrew Knudsen, a Norwegian resident of Provo City, served as a Mormon bishop.

Sources:

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