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1825
The sloop Restauration
sailed from Stavanger, a town on the southwestern coast of Norway on July 4. On
board were fifty-two persons. The ship reached the port of New York on October
9 after a journey of three months . With a group of American Quakers,
Cleng Peerson met the immigrants. Cleng Peerson, had arrived four years
earlier. The Sloopers settled in Kendall township in New York state on the
shores of Lake Ontario. Since then, almost 900,000 Norwegians have emigrated to
North America. Among countries in Europe, only Ireland has had greater mass
migration.
1833
Cleeng Peerson walked from Kendall township in New
York state to Ohio. He discovered the Fox River valley in La Salle County in
Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The first Norwegian settlement in the Midwest,
Fox River settlement, was founded in this region in the mid- 1830s. This
settlement remained a significant mother colony and served as a way station for
immigrants to the Midwest.
1836
Two ships with 167 emigrants sailed from
Stavanger: Den norske klippe and Norden. Most of the emigrants
crossed the Atlantic on Norwegian ships, but a few also went from Gothenburg or
Le Havre. Most of them headed for the Fox River settlement.
1837
Two more emigrant ships, Enigheden from
Stavanger and Ægir from Bergen, left for America. The first
emigration from eastern Norway now began. Many people left Tinn in Telemark.
Ole Rynning from Snåsa was part of the expedition that found the area
Beaver Creek south of Chicago. Many people thought that “America
fever” explained the emigration. In a pastoral letter A
Word of Admonition to the Peasants in the Diocese of Bergen who Desire to
Emigrate, Bishop
Jacob Neumann pictured the desire to emigrate as a contagious disease.
Ole Nattestad wrote Beskrivelse over en reise til Nordamerica
(Description
of a Journey to North America).
1838
The first book about America was published. Ole
Rynning’s famous emigrant guide, True Account of
America was written while he lay ill by Beaver Creek. Ole
Nattestad founded the first settlement in Wisconsin, Jefferson Prairie
in Rock County.
Bishop Neumann’s pastoral letter A Word of
Admonition to the Peasants in the Diocese of Bergen who Desire to Emigrate
provoked Norwegians in America. Svein Knudsen Lothe comments on Neumann’s
admonition in a
letter.
1839
The emigration from the parish Vik in Sogn was
initiated by the departure of Per Iversen Unde. Unde had studied Ole Rynning's
True Account of America.
1840
In the 1840s Wisconsin became the main region of
Norwegian settlement and remained the center of Norwegian activity until the
Civil War. Norwegian pioneers went further west as new regions were opened to
settlement. Most of them used wagons pulled by oxen. Even Heg, a Haugian from
Lier, an energetic and pragmatic leader of the Norwegian Americans, and Ole K.
Trovatten, arrived at the Muskego settlement. Ole K. Trovatten wrote a diary and many
America letters.
1841
The first book was printed in Norwegian in New
York. Doctor Martin Luther's Small Catechism, with Plain Introduction for
Children, and Sentences from the Word of God to Strengthen the Faith of the
Meek, translated from Danish and published by lay preacher
Elling Eielsen.
1842
Lay preacher Elling Eielsen (1804-1883) built a
combined dwelling and meeting house in La Salle County. It was called a
forsamlingshus, an assembly house, not a church.
1843
The first Norwegian congregation that came out of
the state-church tradition was organized in Muskego, December 14, by
Claus Lauritz Clausen from Ærø in Denmark.
1844
The first Norwegian Lutheran confirmation in
America was conducted in Even Heg’s barn. Use of the Muskego church was
initiated in the autumn of the same year.
J.W.C. Dietrichson, university-trained Norwegian pastor, arrived in
Muskego. During the autumn there developed a conclusive break between Claus
Lauritz Clausen and Elling Eielsen. Although they represented two distinct
movements within the church, they had conducted joint religious services in
Even Heg’s barn which also served as a receiving station for newcomers,
with Norwegian immigrants filling it every summer.
Johan R. Reiersen published Veiviser for Norske Emigranter til De
forenede Nordamerikanske Stater og Texas (Pathfinder for Norwegian
Emigrants to the United States and Texas).
1845
The first Norwegian church building was inaugurated March 12 in
Muskego. The building has been moved to the campus of Luther Seminary in St.
Paul, Minnesota. The Muskego Manifesto was inserted in Morgenbladet on
January 6. It was an open letter, signed by 80 men, and a defense by the
immigrants of their new home in America.
Johan R. Reiersen led a group of
Norwegian peasants from Agder to land he had selected in Texas. They formed a
Norwegian settlement known as Normandy in Henderson County.
1846
Elling Eielsen’s Synod, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (lay church) was founded by Elling Eielsen. This is the low-church
organization within the Lutheran free-church movement among
Norwegian-Americans. Fourteen Lutheran congregations were founded between 1846
and 1900. The Swedes had one Lutheran synod, Augustana. Iowa became a
state.
1847
The first Norwegian-American newspaper,
Nordlyset (Northern Lights), was published on July 29 in Muskego by
James D. Reymert from Farsund. The paper was printed in Even Heg’s barn.
The last issue of Nordlyset appeared on May 18, 1850. The name was then
changed to Demokraten (The Democrat). The church and the press were the
two most important institutions in Norwegian America.
Several Norwegian
settlements were founded in the western parts of Wisconsin in this period.
Elise Tvede Wærenskjold recommended Texas as a new home for Norwegian
immigrants. Several of the letters she wrote home to Norway are included in
Land of Their Choice by Theodore C. Blegen.
1848
Adam Løvenskjold wrote an account of
Norwegians in America after he had visited Norwegian settlements.
Gold was
discovered in the Sacramento valley in California. Many Norwegians were caught
by the
gold fever.
1849
The repeal of the British Navigation Acts
permitted Norwegian ships to transport emigrants to Quebec.
1850
The first Norwegian emigrants arrived in Quebec.
Between 1850 and 1865 most emigrants traveled on
Norwegian sailing ships to Quebec and from there to the United States.
A. Budde, Stavanger Amts Landbruksskole (Agricultural school) wrote Af
et brev om Amerika. (A letter about
America)
1851
Kirkelig Maanedstidende (Church Monthly)
was launched two years before the official founding of the Synod. It continued
until 1956 under various names and through merging with other periodicals
(Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende and Lutheraneren).
The
first Norwegian pioneers came to Minnesota. In southern Houston County the
completely Norwegian township Spring Grove came into being.
Snowshoe Thompson was born in Telemark. He joined the gold rush in
California. On skis, he carried the mail across the Sierra Nevada mountain
range for nearly 20 years, thereby ensuring postal connection between the
Territory of Utah and California. He was already a legend when he died in 1876.
1852
Emigranten, the most important of the early
pioneer newspapers, published its first issue on January 23. The number of
subscribers had grown to four thousand in 1860. The first editor was C.L.
Clausen.
Ole Bull’s colony,
Oleana, was established in September in Potter County in Pennsylvania,
but turned out to be a financial disaster. Already in September the following
year, Ole
Bull sold the land to the original owners.
1853
The Synod of the Norwegian-Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (the Norwegian Synod) was organized. The Synod adopted the
ritual of the Church of Norway and regarded the congregation as a geographic
unit, a Norwegian sogn, or parish as in the Old Country.
Ole Canuteson from Karmøy led a company from the Fox River
settlement to Bosque County in Texas.
Emigranten reported that the number of Norwegians in
Decorah was growing rapidly.
1854
90% of the Norwegian emigrants traveled via Quebec
between 1854 and 1865.
The first issue of Den Norske Amerikaner (The Norwegian
American) was published in Madison in December by Elias Stangeland.
Norwegians settled in Goodhue County in Minnesota. Several places
in the County are named after places in Norway: Vang, Toten, Eidsvold, Dovre,
Sogn, and Aspelund.
1857
Den Norske Amerikaner was bought by the
newly-established Scandinavian Democratic Press Association. The name of the
paper was changed to Nordstjernen (The North Star).
1858
Minnesota became a state.
1860
About 55,000 Norwegian immigrants now lived in the
states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. 60% were born in Norway.
The Norwegian Synod with 29 clergy and one hundred congregations represented
the largest gathering of Norwegian Lutherans in America.
Nordstjernen was taken over by Emigranten, which was
the most important pioneer paper at the time. The pioneer press laid the
foundation for the later flourishing of journalism among Norwegian
immigrants.
1861
The American Civil War started. From every
settlement Norwegian immigrants went to war. Colonel
Hans Christian Heg, son of the pioneer leader Even Heg, became the
commander of the
Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment, known as the Norwegian regiment. This
regiment took part in 26 battles and skirmishes. Colonel Heg fell in the battle
at Chickamauga in September 1863. It is later estimated that at least 800
Norwegians from Minnesota, more than 400 from Iowa, and about 3,000 from
Wisonsin fought for the North.
Mons H. Grinager served as a captain during the Civil War. He wrote
several
letters about the war and other subjects.
1862
There was a great demand for workers in America.
The Homestead Act gave every American citizen 160 acres of surveyed government
land.
Some Dakota Indians suddenly and unexpectedly attacked white
settlers in the Minnesota River Valley. Norwegian settlers were among the first
killed in a conflict that delayed westward settlement until the 1870s.
1863
Colonel Hans Christian Heg was killed at the
battle of Chickamauga in September. Waldemar Ager described this battle in the
article “ Det norske regiment i slaget ved Chickamauga (The Norwegian
regiment in the battle of Chickamauga) ”. A
painting by Carl L. Boeckmann also gives a depiction of the battle.
Marcus Thrane emigrated to America. He worked as a journalist and editor of
several newspapers. He also started the monthly journal Dagslyset in
1869.
1865
The Civil War has ended. At Chickamauga, the state
of Wisconsin erected a monument in honor of the Fifteenth Wisconsin
Regiment.
By this time 77,873 Norwegians had left Norway, mainly from the
fjord districts of western Norway and the mountain areas of eastern Norway.
1866
From the middle of the 1860s steamships gradually
replaced sailing ships. This made mass emigration possible.
Skandinaven was one of the three most important newspapers in the
Midwest. It was published in Chicago until 1941.
Knud Langeland was the first editor. In 1912 the newspaper had 54,000
subscribers.
1867
There were three Norwegian settlements in Texas;
Brownsboro, Four Mile Prairie, and Bosque County. Ole T. Nystel was 14 years
old when he was captured by the
Comanche Indians in Bosque County and was held as a prisoner for three months.
1868
The first illustrated periodical in Norwegian in
America,
Billed-Magazin, was published in Madison between 1868 and 1870.
Here Svein Nilsson published his observant accounts of Norwegian settlements.
The Norwegian Dramatic Society was established in Chicago.
1869
The singing societies played an important part in
Norwegian America. The first society was Normanna Sangerkor (Normanna
Singers’ Choir) founded in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Norwegian Singers
Association (Det Norsk Sangerforbund) had fifty member choirs in 1914.
The
first Scandinavian Institute was founded in Madison, Wisconsin, and
Rasmus B. Anderson was appointed professor of Scandinavian
languages.
Andreas Larsen Dahl immigrated to America from Skrautvål in
Valdres. He traveled around in Wisconsin as a photographer.
1870
According to the census the Scandinavians had
become the largest foreign-born group in Minnesota. The Scandinavian group was
dominated by the Norwegians.
Carl Lewenhaupt wrote a Report on
Swedish-Norwegian Immigration in 1870
1873
The rate of emigration was interrupted by the
“Panic of 1873”.
1874
St. Olaf College was founded in Northfield by
Bernt Julius Muus.
Decorah-Posten was one of the three most
important newspapers in the Midwest. It was published in Decorah, Iowa, until
1972. In the 1920s Decorah-Posten had about 45,000 subscribers. Rasmus
B. Anderson, professor of Scandinavian languages at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, published America Not Discovered by Columbus and
Den norske maalsag (The Norwegian Language Issue),
Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen, professor of Germanic languages at University
of Columbia, New York, published Gunnar, a peasant idyll written in
English for American readers.
1875
On July 5, Rasmus B. Anderson gave a speech in
Chicago at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Norwegian
emigration to America.
1876
Skandinaven’s bookstore opened in
Chicago.
1877
Luther
College
Museum was started at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. In 1925 the name
was changed to Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Since then, the museum has
been located in the center of Decorah. Nordic
Fest takes place in Decorah the last weekend of July every year.
1879
Land boom in North Dakota. Until 1920 Norwegians
were the largest ethnic group in North Dakota. The Norwegians settled in Traill
County and Griggs County. Towns like Fargo, Grand Forks, Hatton, Mayville, and
Hillsboro took on a Norwegian flavor preserved to the present day.
The
author, Kristoffer
Janson, went on a lecture tour of the Midwest and gave about 80 talks
and lectures for Norwegian-Americans and other Scandinavians.
1880
The Danish Thingvalla Line
established the first direct passenger route by steamship between Scandinavia
and the United States. Many Norwegian emigrants booked passage on this line.
941 Norwegians now lived in Bosque County in Texas.
The Norwegian
feminist
Aasta Hansteen went to America and stayed
in Boston and Chicago while working as a portrait painter.
1883
Torjus and Mikkel Hemmestvedt came to Red Wing,
Minnesota. They were considered to be the best skiers of their day in Norway
and became pioneer ski jumpers in America.
1884
Den norsk-amerikanske Venstreforening (The
Norwegian-American Liberal Society) was formed because “our old
fatherland’s independence and freedom are at stake” as stated in an
appeal in Budstikken. Several other liberal societies came into being in
the Midwest, and a fund drive was conducted. The society in Minneapolis sent
4,000 kroner to the Liberal (Venstre) party in Norway.
Anders Beer Wilse immigrated to America and stayed until 1900. He
worked as a railroad engineer and, in addition, became renowned for his work as
a landscape photographer.
1885
H.A. Foss published Husmanns-Gutten (The Cotter’s
Son). The novel was first serialized in Decorah-Posten and was so
popular that the paper gained 6,000 new subscribers.
1886
Knut Hamsun went to America for the second time and wrote about the
crossing onboard the emigrant ship Geiser for Dagbladet. Hamsun
spent two periods of time in Minneapolis: 1882-1884 and 1886-1888.
1887
Minneapolis Tidende was one of the three
most important newspapers in the Midwest. It was published in Minneapolis until
1935 when it was taken over by Decorah-Posten.
The first statue of
Leiv Eiriksson was unveiled in Boston. Later many more were erected, in places
like Chicago, Duluth, St. Paul, and Seattle.
Leiv
Eiriksson Day is celebrated every year in October.
Andrew Furuseth became secretary in the Sailors Union of the Pacific
Coast. He was called the Abraham Lincoln of the sea.
1888
Kvinden og Hjemmet was published in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with Ida
Hansen from Ringsaker as the editor of the magazine. In 1924, the magazine had
34,000 subscribers.
1889
Dakota became a state and was divided into South
and North Dakota.
The Norwegian-American farmer, Hans Jakob Olson, was
lynched in
the vicinity of Blair, Wisconsin.
1890
The United Church (Den forenede kirke) was
organized. It was the largest Lutheran synod among the immigrants with about
152,000 members.
The newspaper Western Viking was established in
Seattle.
The poet Sigbjørn Obstfelder went to visit his brother
Herman in Milwaukee. He also went to Chicago.
Several of the letters he wrote
while living in the neighborhood of Washington Heights in Chicago in 1891 have
been saved.
John Anderson Publishing House was founded by
John Anderson in Chicago. He also published the newspaper
Skandinaven.
1891
Nordisk Tidende (Nordic Times) was
established in New York by the printer Emil Nielsen from Horten. Nordisk
Tidende og Western Viking are the only newspapers that are still
published.
In 1946, O.M. Norlie listed the names of 570 Norwegian
immigrant publications (Norwegian-American Papers 1847-1946).
Augsburg Publishing House, among the most
important Norwegian-American publishers was established by United
Norwegian Lutheran Church.
1892
Ellis Island replaced
Castle Garden as a receiving and control station for immigrants.
Knute Nelson from Evanger, Voss, was elected governor of Minnesota.
From 1895 until his death he served as United States senator.
1893
Recession in America led to a reduction in
emigration from Norway.
Captain Magnus Andersen sailed a replica of the
Gokstad ship, Viking¸ to the World Fair in Chicago.
“The
Norwegian House” at the exhibition, built as a stave church, is now part
of Little Norway, a Museum of Norse Antiques in a Norwegian Pioneer Homestead,
25 miles west of Madison, Wisconsin.
1894
En Saloonkeepers Datter (A Saloonkeeper’s
Daughter) by Drude Krog Janson was published in Minneapolis.
1895
The Sons of Norway was founded on January 16.
Among the 18 founders, 14 were Trønders. Bersvend O. Draxton was elected
secretary. By 1914 there were 12,000 members in
155 lodges from coast to coast. The headquarters are in Minneapolis.
Today The Sons of Norway also has lodges in Norway. The Sons of Norway publish
the magazine The Viking.
1896
Knute Nelson gave a speech
in the US Senate on May 14.
Gold was discovered in the Klondyke and
Alaska. Between 1987 and 1899 many gold diggers found their way to the
goldfields, among them many Norwegians.
1897
Jacob Fjelde’s statue of Ole Bull was erected
in Loring Park in Minneapolis.
Norwegian linguists began showing an
interest in the development of the Norwegian language in America.
1898
The Norwegian Club (Den Norske Klub) in San
Francisco was established.
The Swedish farmer Olof Ohman discovered a
stone with runic inscriptions near the town of Kensington in Minnesota.
The inscriptions relate the experience of “eight Goths and twenty-two
Norwegians on a journey of discovery westward from Vinland” in the middle
of the 1300s. The stone is not regarded as genuine by most present-day
scholars.
1899
Immigrants from Valdres, Norway, convened the
first
bygdelag assembly on June 25 on the banks of the Mississippi River
in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis. It is the bygdelag that adheres
longest to the Norwegian language in their publications and
in their meetings. Not until the 1950s did a gradual transition to English take
place.
Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was born in America. The family had
emigrated from Valdres. The Theory of the Leisure Class by Veblen was
published this year. Veblen has been called the spiritual father of the New
Deal.
The newspaper Washington-Posten was started in Seattle on
May 17 by Frank Oleson from Trondheim.
1900
Some Norwegians had moved westward to Montana,
Idaho, and Colorado.
1902
Valdres Samband formally organized. It was the
first of the bygdelags to be formed after the first meeting of Norwegian
Americans in Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, in June 1899.
Agnes Mathilde Wergeland was appointed Professor of History and French
at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.
1903
Det Norske Selskab i Amerika (The Norwegian
Society in America) was founded in Minneapolis. The goal was to unite all
Norwegians in a national organization for the advancement of Norwegian culture.
Waldemar Ager was a major force in the society.
1904
The monthly, Sønner av Norge (Sons
of Norway), edited by Laurits Stavnheim, began publication. In 1943, the
magazine was renamed Sons of Norway (since November 1963, The
Viking).
Per Mæhlum emigrated from Stange, Hedemarken and settled
in the town
Kathryn in North Dakota. He was a prolific amateur photographer.
1905
The Swedish-Norwegian union was dissolved.
National fervor reached new heights among the immigrants. The Norwegian
university student singing society’s tour in America was a celebrated
event.
Symra was published in Decorah, Iowa, edited by
Johs. B. Wist and Kristian Prestgard. Symra was published until
1914.
1906
There were 237 Norwegian organizations in the
United States. The St. Olaf Band visited Norway.
1907
Telelaget and
Hallinglaget were organized. Nearly fifty societies (bygdelag)
came into being. In the heyday of the movement at least 75,000 people took part
in the annual reunions.
Nordmanns-Forbundet (Norse Federation) was founded,
partly due to the initiative of the Norwegian man of letters,
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. It is an international organization that
promotes solidarity between Norway and Norwegians abroad and furthers the cause
of Norwegian culture and Norwegian interests.
Nordmanns-Forbundet
was published in Norwegian (from 1908) and The Norseman in English (from
1965) until 1984. Since then the Norse Federation has published the bilingual
magazine The Norseman. There are many chapters in the US. The
headquarters are in Oslo.
Martin Ulvestad’s Nordmændene i Amerika, deres historie
og rekord (The history of the Norewegians in America). The book also
contains articles about Norwegian music in America, a list of newspapers and
magazines, and Norwegian-American educational institutions.
1908
Hjalmar Rued Holand
De norske settlementers historie (The history
of the Norwegian settlements was published).
1911
Students of Scandinavian formed their own
organization, the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies. Just
prior to Word War I, students at eight universities and nine colleges could
study the Norwegian language in America.
1913
The Norwegian America Line made it possible for
emigrants to sail directly from Norway.
Ragnar Omtvedt of Chicago set a new world record in ski jumping.
Olive Fremstad, who emigrated from Oslo when she was 12 years old,
became an internationally renowned Wagnerian opera singer. She sang the role of
Isolde at the Metropolitan in New York City.
1914
214,985 Norwegians left for America between 1900
and 1914.
The international temperance order I.O.G.T. had more than fifty
Norwegian lodges in America.
Spelemannslaget af Amerika (Harding Fiddlers
Society of America) was formed in Ellsworth, Wisconsin.
A cooperative
body, the Council of Bygdelags (Bygdelagenes Fellesraad) was formed.
Centenary of the Norwegian constitution was observed with a large exposition in
Frogner Park in Oslo. A section of the exhibition is devoted to
Norwegian-Americans with a reading-room with Norwegian-American newspapers, an
exhibit from Norwegian America, and Nordmanns-Forbundet’s office. About
20,000 Norwegian-Americans visited Norway. Some of the visitors became the
target of caricaturists.
Governor Louis D. Hanna of North Dakota delivered a bust of
Abraham Lincoln as a gift from the citizens of his home state.
The Norwegian Singers Association of America toured Norway under
the leadership of Emil Biorn of Chicago.
The biggest celebration in America took place in Minneapolis/St.
Paul with some 50,000 participants.
1917
On June 9, the United Church, the Hauge Synod, and
the Norwegian Synod merged to become the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America.
It is an almost incredulous merger between groups that only a few years earlier
seemed to be irreconcilable. Their new denomination comprised nearly half a
million members, 3,276 parishes, and 1,954 pastors.
1918
Ole Hanson, who had grown up in Wisconsin, was
elected mayor of Seattle.
Peter Julius Rosendahl created the comic
strip Han Ola og han Per which was published in
Decorah-Posten until 1935. Later, the comic strip was reprinted
frequently until 1972 when the newspaper ceased publication.
Knute Rockne from Voss was made coach of the football team of the
University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. He held the position until he
died in a plane crash in 1931.
1924
The Norwegian-American newspaper
Decorah-Posten had 25 correspondents in Norway.
Ole
E. Rølgvaag’s account of Norwegian pioneer life on the
prairies, I de dage, was published. A year later the sequel Riket
grundlægges appeared. Rølvaag is the best and most
representative of Norwegian-American authors. He taught at St. Olaf College
from 1906 until his untimely death in 1931. During the course of 70 years 200
emigrant novels, stories and poems have appeared that interpret the life and
experiences of emigrants in their new homeland.
1925
The Norwegian-American community flourished
between 1895 and 1925. Norwegian forces united around the celebration of the
centennial of the first Norwegian immigration. Patriotic
feelings reached a high point during the
100th anniversary for Norwegian immigration. A large exhibit was held
in Minneapolis/St. Paul depicting several aspects of immigrant life. President
Coolidge praised the Norwegians in his speech “ The President’s
Tribute to the Norwegians”.
The Norwegian-American
Historical Association ( NAHA) was founded
in Northfield, Minnesota. NAHA is considered to be one of the most active
ethnic historical societies in the US. Nordisk Tidende in New York
reported that 10,000 people paraded along 4th Avenue with Norwegian flags and
banners.
A
statue of the Civil War hero Hans Christian Heg was unveiled in Lier
near Drammen.
1927
Giants in the Earth by O.E. Rølvaag
was translated by Lincoln Colcord in cooperation with the author. Nearly 80,000
copies were sold.
Rølvaag taught Norwegian at St. Olaf College from 1906
until he died in 1931. In the course of 70 years, 200 novels that dealt with
the immigrant experience were published.
1929
Restrictions on immigration through new quota laws
became effective. Norway is awarded an annual quota of 2,377.
1929 – 1930
En Haandbok for
Amerikareisen (A handbook for the journey to America) is published with
”A Greeting from the President” for Scandinavians traveling to the
United States. The book includes lists with states and cities where
Scandinavians have settled with a description of the places.
1931
Johan A. Hofstead compiled a list of nearly four
hundred women and men who taught or had taught at American colleges and
universities. Positions at Norwegian-American colleges are not included in this
number.
Theodore C. Blegen’s Norwegian Migration to America 1825-1860
was published by the Norwegian-American Historical Association.
1934
Centennial celebration of the first permanent
Norwegian settlement in the United States in the Fox River valley, La Salle
County, Illinois.
1939
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway
toured ”Norwegian America.”
The year before he published the
article "Language
and Immigration."
Einar Haugen’s Norsk i Amerika (The Norwegian Language in
America) was published.
1940
Theodore C. Blegen’s Norwegian Migration
to America : The American Transition was published by the
Norwegian-American Historical Association.
1941
Ingrid Semmingsen was the first emigration
historian in Norway to study emigration to America in depth. Her two volumes
entitled Veien mot vest. Utvandringen fra Norge til Amerika (The
emigration from Norway to America) were published in 1941 and 1950.
1955
Theodore C. Blegen’s Land of Their Choice
: The Immigrants Write Home was published
1961
First volume of Alfred Hauge’s trilogy about
Cleng Peerson, Hundevakt was published.
1969
A replica of Borgund stave church was erected in
Rapid City in South-Dakota,
1974
Vesterheim Genealogical Center & Naeseth
Library, a section of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, was established in
Madison, Wisconsin, by Gerhard B.
Naeseth.
1975
The Sesquicentennial of Norwegian emigration to
America was celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic.
In Norway there was a
matiné in the Nationalteatret on May 17.
King Olav V visited
”Norwegian America.”
Alfred Hauge’s trilogy about Cleng
Peerson, translated by Eric J. Friis, was published as one of the Official
Publications of the Norwegian Immigration Sesquicentennial.
The Norwegian
Society of Texas was formed.
1978
Norsk Høstfest took place for the first
time in Minot, North Dakota.
1981
A Norwegian chapter of the Norwegian-American
Historical Association (NAHA-Norway) was formed. NAHA-Norway organizes seminars
and publishes essay collections.
1982
A new replica of the Gokstad Ship crossed the
Atlantic. Hjemkomst sailed from Duluth in Minnesota to Norway. The ship
was built by Robert Asp, Hawley, Minnesota.
1987
King Olav visited Norwegian America and insisted
on driving to Decorah, Iowa, despite bad weather conditions.
1989
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah,
Iowa, sent three exhibitions to Norway. Norway in America: Painting and
Drawing was shown at Maihaugen, Lillehammer; Norway in America: Folk and
Decorative Arts was shown at Hedmarksmuseet, Hamar; and Norway in
America: The photography of Andrew Dahl was shown at Eiketunet,
Gjøvik.
1992
King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American
Studies was inaugurated at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Professor
Odd S. Lovoll, who is also the editor of the publications of the
Norwegian-American Historical Association in Northfield, holds the
position.
1993
The first volume of Gerhard Naseth’s
Norwegian Immigrants to the United States: A Biographical Directory was
published. Volume I contains biographies of emigrants from Norwegian between
1825 and 1843. Volume II, which was published in 1997, contains biographies
from 1844 to 1846. Naeseth collected material for biographies until 1850.
1997
The exhibition The Migration of a Tradition
was shown at Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo, after having toured several cities and
museums in the US.
Esso Perspektiv published a special issue on Norwegian
emigration to America.
1998
A replica of Hopperstad stave church, Vik in Sogn
and Fjordane, was inaugurated in Moorhead, Minnesota.
1999
The
Bygdelag Centennial was celebrated at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa 27
- 29 July. There are 32 bygdelags in Amerika. The centennial was arranged by
The National Council of Bygdelags in America (Bygdelagenes Fellesraad).
St.
Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, celebrated its 125th anniversary. The
Norwegian-American Historical Association in Northfield published Bernt
Julius Muus : Founder of St. Olaf College by Joseph M. Shaw.
2000
175th anniversary of Norwegian emigration to
America. The anniversary is observed on both sides of the Atlantic.
The
Norwegian-American Historical Association and Minnesota Historical Society
organized a conference at Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, Minnesota,
entitled
Vandringer: Norwegians in the American Mosaic 1825–2000.
An exhibition of paintings by Minnesotans of Norwegian background 1870-1970
opened in James Hill House, St. Paul, at the same time. Marion John Nelson,
professor emeritus and former director of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
in Decorah, Iowa, curated the exhibition.
The Norwegian chapter of the
Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA-Norge) organized its seventh
seminar in Hamar in August
The exhibition
Norwegians in New York 1825 to 2000: Builders of City, Community and
Culture opened at Ellis Island in New York in April.
Sogn og Fjordane
College held a conference in September. The conference theme was the letters
and diaries of Norwegian Americans.
Timeline text written by Dina Tolfsby.
Main source: Odd S. Lovoll. The Promise of America. Revised
edition, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis 1999. |
