A timeline of Norwegian Settlements
A timeline of Norwegian Settlements

Immigrants from Telemark can be traced to almost every major Norwegian Pioneer Settlement. From 1906-1927, Telelaget’s first Telesoga editor, Torkel Oftelie, traveled by horse and buggy all over the midwest to chronicle every Teler settlement that came to his attention. His 53 issues of the Telsoga and his 128-page Yearbook for the Telelaget were an earnest effort to record each settlement where Telers had put down roots in America. Despite his efforts, this task remains unfinished. The Telesoga continues to trace the pioneers from Telemark to this day. Our book series Telemark to America Volumes 1-3 documents settlements even further. And yet, there are still many more stories to tell.

The settlements highlighted here are notable for their general Norwegian American cultural significance or significance to individual Telelaget members. Use these resources to help you fill in the gaps of your own family’s story or to inspire you to collaborate with other Telers to reveal a story as yet untold.


Important Pioneer Settlements

The Kendall, New York Settlement
Orleans County, New York State

The Kendall New York Settlement was the first Norwegian settlement in America. Cleng Peerson (1783-1865), "Pathfinder of Norwegian immigration," selected the location and made all of the arrangements in America for the "sloopers" who sailed on the sloop Restauration in 1825. The purchase price of $5 an acre was agreed upon with the landowner, Joseph Fellows. The Norwegians only had part of the amount, but an agreement was reached that allowed the Norwegians to make ten annual payments.

Each head of household received 40 acres. The first years at Kendall were challenging. Many questioned their decision to come to America, but there was no turning back. The settlement was made up of the 53 passengers on the Restauration, and 24 of them were packed together into a newly built cabin that measured only 12' X 12'. They survived the winter and, the following year worked out an agreement with their wealthy American neighbors to harvest their grain. They were able to keep every 11th bushel that they threshed out of the grain with a flail. In 1826, each family cleared an average of two acres. So, they were then able to raise wheat. Almost all of the crop was used to make bread for the next winter.

The author of an early guidebook about America, Ole Rynning, wrote in 1837-1838, "The land was thickly overgrown with woods and difficult to clear. Consequently, during the first four or five years, the conditions were very hard for these people. Well-to-do neighbors assisted them; however, by their own industry, they finally got their land in such condition that they could earn a living from it and live better than in their old native land.”

In 1834, Peerson led a half dozen families from Kendall to a new home in Illinois. The Fox River Settlement on the Illinois River was the first Norwegian settlement in the Midwest.


Learn More:

The Slooper Society

Kendall Settlement Survived

The Promise of America

by Odd Lovoll

Norwegian Settlement in the United States

Telesoga May, 2001

A christmas card featuring a painting of a norwegian slooper ship
A christmas card featuring a painting of a norwegian slooper ship

The Fox River, Illinois Settlement

La Salle County, Illinois

In 1833, the intrepid Cleng Peerson, accompanied by two steadfast companions, embarked on a remarkable journey. They aimed to explore the vast expanse of the west, a feat that led to establishing the Fox River Colony in La Salle County, Illinois. Peerson's endurance was awe-inspiring, as he is said to have traversed a staggering 2,000 miles on foot. Starting from the first settlement at Kendall, New York, he journeyed through Michigan, eventually reaching the then-small village of Chicago. Continuing his westward trek, he discovered what he believed to be an ideal settlement area on the Illinois River in the Fox River Valley.

Six families left Kendall, NY, with Peterson in 1835 and founded the Fox River Settlement southwest of Chicago. Land was available for purchase for the standard government price of $1.25/acre.

In 1836, two brigs, Den Norske Klippe (June 8) and the Norden (May 25), sailed from Stavanger to New York with 167 people. Most went to the Fox River settlement. Some went to Kendall but moved on to Fox River within a few years.

The first group to leave Telemark was a party from Tinn in 1837. A poignant scene unfolded at Sandven, at the shores of Lake Tinnsjø, on May 17. Fifty-nine individuals from Tinn and Hovin were preparing to depart. The minister and sheriff (Iensmann H. A. Bernaas) delivered heartfelt speeches. The emigrants, dressed in traditional costumes, carried their trunks and supplies as they rowed down the river. Their families, left behind, waved them off. They journeyed through Gransherad and Heddal, down to Lake Heddalsvatn, and then by boats along Lake Heddalsvatn and Lake Norsjø, almost reaching Skien. The final leg of their journey was on foot. Five days after leaving Tinn, the group boarded the sailing vessel Paketten in Skien (May 22) under the command of Ole Halvorsen. The ship arrived in Gøteborg/Gothenburg, Sweden, a few days later. After changing ships, they set sail for New York on the Niord about May 31. The ship arrived in New York on August 15 after a 10-week voyage. From New York, the Telers traveled to Chicago and arrived at the Fox River Settlement in September. Most of them settled there, including Snowshoe Thompson (Jon Torsteinsen Rue).

In 1841, Elling Eielson erected his meeting house in Fox River, a testament to the enduring spirit of the Norwegian immigrants. This humble structure would become the oldest Norwegian-Lutheran Church in America, symbolizing their faith and resilience. In the 1840s, Fox River assumed a pivotal role as a stopping-off point for Norwegian immigrants entering America through New York, Quebec/Great Lakes, and the port of New Orleans. From here, armed with a brief respite and invaluable advice from the Norwegian citizens of Fox River, these pioneers would venture forth to establish thriving settlements in Wisconsin and Iowa.

Learn More:
Our Norwegian Ancestors of the Fox River Settlement
by Karen Kindler Kotlarchik

Fox River Norwegian Settlement 


Better Land Further West?


The Norsk Museum


Fox River Lutheran Church
a pen and ink drawing of a log house with a bearded man inset
a pen and ink drawing of a log house with a bearded man inset

The Muskego Settlement

Racine County, Wisconsin

In 1839, John Nielsen Luraas, the eldest son on the Luraas farm led a party from Tinn, Telemark. Ansten Nattestad was leading a group to America this season. John Luraas married Anna Olsen Berge on April 8, 1839. By September 8, they were in America. Of the 40 in the party, half were from the Luraas families. These 40 left from Drammen with the sloop Enighteten on May 5, 1839. In Goteborg, they boarded the Clarissa Andrews on June 1, bound for Boston. After arriving on July 20, the immigrants went west via New York and Buffalo. After a perilous voyage on the Great Lakes, they arrived in Milwaukee seventeen weeks after they left their native land. Their original plan was to go to the Fox River Settlement in Illinois. A couple of Americans talked them out of it, and they went to Muskego instead.

Almost immediately, the "America Letters" began to flow with accounts of freedom and equality. There was no need to bow to officials and "betters" in this land. The letters became an indictment of Norwegian class distinctions and told of toil and hardship. The letters were copied and sent from farm to farm and community to community. Many were reprinted in newspapers.

On June 28, 1839, Johannes Johansen and Soren Tollefsen Bache left Store Walle in Lier and came to Fox River, Illinois. Johannes would go on to write the Muskego Manifesto. Soren would write a book about Muskego. They went to Muskego in the summer of 1840 from Fox River. The Muskego site seemed to Bache to be unfavorably located, so he selected lands on the shores of Wind Lake in Norway Township. This led most of the Muskego folks to move here. Soren returned to Norway in 1842, left again in 1843, returned once more in 1847, and settled in Lier parish, where he died in 1890.

Upon their arrival in Muskego during the dry season, the swamps around Lake Muskego appeared to be a promising prairie. However, it wasn't until the following spring that they realized the challenging terrain they had chosen. The early Muskego settlers, even after moving out of the lowlands onto Norway Township and adjoining lands in Racine County, were plagued by swamp fever, ague, and malaria. The situation was so dire that 70 people died of malaria and related illnesses during the fall of 1843. The suffering was described by Milton Wells, who visited the Muskego settlement during the winter of 1843-44 and wrote, 'The amount of wretchedness and suffering which prevailed was such as absolutely to mock all description.' Despite these hardships, men like Heg, Bache, and Johansen provided much-needed aid to new immigrants, making Muskego a refuge for the down-and-out.

Muskego played a pivotal role in the history of Norwegian immigration to the American Midwest. It was the first major way-station for Norwegians immigrating to this region, with later destinations such as Koshkonong and points west becoming the first stops for Norwegians.

The State of Wisconsin erected a Historic Marker in 1963 to commemorate the Muskego Settlement. It is located at the Norway Evangelical Lutheran Church entrance, across from Heg Park, on Wisconsin Highway 36 in Wind Lake, Wisconsin. It is inscribed as follows:

Under the leadership of John Luraas, forty pioneers came to Muskego Lake from Norway in 1839 to found one of the most important settlements in Norwegian American history. After temporary setbacks, the settlement flourished here ' through the leadership of Even Heg, Johannes Johannsen, Soren Bache, Elling Eielsen, James Reymert, and Claus Clausen, who sent glowing reports to Norway and encouraged a large movement to this country. This settlement gave rise to the first Norwegian Lutheran congregation organized in America (1843) and published the first Norwegian American newspaper. Old Muskego became well known as a mother colony to other settlements, schools, and churches springing up on the new frontier. Countless wagonloads of newcomers stopped here before continuing west. Nearby Heg Park commemorates Colonel Hans C. Heg, one of Wisconsin's Civil War heroes.


Learn More:
Telelaget's Muskego Project

Telesoga Issues:

Sep 1917

Mar 1924

Nov 1984

May 2001

Nov 2004

May 2005

May 2006

Nov 2011

Nov 2012

May 2015

May 2016

Nov 2019


Muskego, The Most Historic Norwegian Colony

A drawing of a two story wooden house
A drawing of a two story wooden house

Koshkonong, Wisconsin Settlement

Dane County, Wisconsin

The largest and most important Norwegian-American settlement in Wisconsin, Koshkonong, was founded in 1840 by Jefferson Prairie and Fox River pioneers. These brave individuals, driven by a spirit of adventure and a desire for a better future, moved to this area close to present-day Madison, Wisconsin. Nils Sjurson Gilderhus, the first to claim land in this area, was quickly followed by others, including Sondre Sondresen and his wife Ingeliev, who left Skålebo in Tinn, Telemark, for Wisconsin in 1840 and may have been the first Telemark settlers at Koshkonong.

Six hundred eighty-nine parishioners in upper Telemark signed out of their parishes for Amerika in 1843. This was the beginning of the great exodus, which would become a flood in the next two decades as entire communities were beckoned to America by "America Letters" that promised good land and a bright future. The first large party of Telers to head directly to Koshkonong made the trip in 1843, led by Olav Knutson Trovaten.

By 1850, over half of the 5,000 Norwegians in Wisconsin had found a home in the Koshkonong settlement. As more Norwegian immigrants arrived, Koshkonong grew, eventually splitting into an East and a West church community. In the 1840s, there were 543 families or 2,670 people. In the 1860s, this number had grown to 633 families or 3,699 people. 150 years ago, Koshkonong Prairie was known as the 'Queen of the Norwegian Settlements.' This vibrant community became the largest settlement of Norwegian immigrants in America, and over the years, it became the parent of key settlements in Minnesota, Iowa, and elsewhere in the Midwest.

As with all immigrants, food became an essential way of expressing cultural identity, and lefse, lutefisk, and rommegrøt quickly became recognized Norwegian staples. Unlike many other ethnic groups in Wisconsin, the Norwegian immigrants retained much of their culture, partly because of their tight-knit communities. In Norway, the church was the community's centerpiece, reflected religious faithfulness, and provided an identity for each area's moral, social, and political culture. Unsurprisingly, the first concern of immigrants was to create Lutheran congregations that served that same role. In the fall of 1844, the Koshkonong area was visited by Norwegian minister Johannes Wilhelm Christian Dietrichson. Congregations serving the East and West areas of the settlements would spring up soon after.

The Norwegian language and culture were not just preserved in Koshkonong; they thrived. Church services and education were vital in maintaining the language, which was passed down to succeeding generations. In many areas, Norwegian language church school and confirmation instruction continued until World War II. Well into the mid-1900s, storefronts in many rural midwestern towns advertised their products and sales in Norwegian. The Norwegian immigrants also created a large and active Norwegian-language press. Norwegian-American newspapers allowed immigrants to communicate with each other and develop a strong sense of national community, fostering a deep sense of pride in their heritage.

Learn More:
History of the Norwegian People in America 
by Olaf Morgan Norlie

Western Koshkonong Lutheran Church History

Koshkonong Settlement-Locating Lutheranism

Telemark to America V3

Telesoga Issues:

Sept 1912

March 1915

June 1918

Nov 2003

Nov 2009

May 2010

Nov 2014

Nov 2015

Nov 2019

1905 Minneapolis Journal Article

Koshkonong Church Register 1844-1950

An octagonal church building with a graveyard in black and white
An octagonal church building with a graveyard in black and white

Little Turkey and Crane Creek Settlements

Chickasaw County, Iowa

In 1854, a group of Norwegian immigrants embarked on an arduous journey, crossing the Atlantic and traversing the Midwest in ox-drawn prairie schooners. They braved the unknown, establishing the Little Turkey River Settlement in Utica Township. These pioneers, hailing primarily from Telemark, Norway, were not deterred by the harsh conditions. In 1863, a dozen more Norwegian families, fleeing areas of escalating Indian conflicts, sought refuge in Chickasaw County at the Crane Creek Settlement. The following year, more families arrived from Norway, this time from the Jostedal Valley, adding to the growing Norwegian community.

To support the growing immigrant population, Lutheran Pastor UV Koren traveled from Decorah to the settlements in Chickasaw County several times a year. In 1857, the first Norwegian Lutheran Church was established. Located in what is now Lawler, IA, the church, known sometimes as the Little Turkey congregation or the Dale congregation, still stands today as Saude Lutheran. It proudly displays the altarpiece painted by Norwegian American artist Herbjorn Nilson Gausta, who immigrated from Tinn. In 1903, when the church was struck by lightning and destroyed, this beautiful altarpiece was fortunately saved, and the Norwegian title, "Den Gode Hyrde" (The Good Shepherd), remains as a reminder of the congregation's heritage.

The county eventually had a large enough Norwegian community to support four separate Norwegian Lutheran congregations. Immanuel Lutheran and Crane Creek eventually combined, and Immanuel’s building was demolished. Along with Saude Lutheran, Jerico Lutheran Church, and Crane Creek Lutheran Church still hold services in their pioneer-built church buildings, although Norwegian language services ceased before the 1950s. The detailed church history of the area supplies fantastic documentation of the early Norwegian settlement


Learn More:

Norwegian Church History In Chickasaw County

Town of Saude History

Saude and Jerico Lutheran Church

A man with a white beard sits next to a womanwith
A man with a white beard sits next to a womanwith

The Norseland Settlement
Nicollet County, Minnesota


In 1851, the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota acquired nearly 24,000,000 acres of the finest farmlands in the world for white settlement. Land in most of Minnesota west of the Mississippi and the Dakotas became available, and settlers rushed in. In the 1860s, Norwegians came from the land-short settlements of Rock Prairie, Koshkonong, Muskego, and elsewhere, beginning in the summer of 1851.
In the year 1854, after a journey of seven weeks, the families of Norwegians Torstein Østensen Bøen of Tinn, Telemark, Johan Tollefson of Totten, and Lars Svenson Rodning of Hallingdal (a single man) crossed the Minnesota River at the Traverse des Sioux. They climbed the far shore and settled near what is now St. Peter in Nicollet County. This became known as the Norseland Settlement. Torstein Østensen settled at Scandian Grove in Lake Prairie Township.
About a year later, on October 7, 1855, a group of Swedes joined him at Scandian Grove. Andrew Thorson of this group would write, "It was a beautiful fall season. During the winter we lived among Indians who were numerous in our woods. Four or five Norwegian farmers were living in the vicinity. We were the first Swedes at this place."
Thorson reported that the Swedes spent the first winter in a house on some land "now occupied by Annexstad" (the Torstein Østensen Bøen farm). The following year, on June 17, 1856, Ole Østensen Bøen and family from Tinn, Telemark, joined his brother Torstein at Nicollet County. Accompanied by Gunder Nereson and Swenke Torgerson, they settled near a grove in the northern part of New Sweden Township and named the area "Norwegian Grove." By 1858, 31 families called Norseland home.
Pioneer C. C. Nelson found mostly Indians when he came to New Sweden Township in 1858. "We lived among the Indians for four years. They visited us frequently and occasionally stayed all night, and we accommodated them the best we could, although we didn't find them very pleasant or agreeable. However, we tried not to cross them for fear they would attack us at any time."
During the Sioux Uprising, all the settlers were terrified and sought shelter in the city limits of St. Peter. An unlucky few were killed, but all were affected by the events of August 1862. For several years following 1862, settlers posted armed men on the highest ground as they performed their farming chores. Through it all, the Norseland Settlement continued to thrive.
In 1874-75, the ravages of the grasshopper plagued Nicollet County. Aid flowed in, and it was noted "that this should stand out as a perpetual memorial for this people, who in times of dire distress put forth a self-sacrificing hand to aid their brethren.... No one can form any idea of the ravages of the grasshoppers in that section of the county without first seeing them. For miles, the ground is literally covered with them. They are coming this way and mow everything before them."
The center of the community was its church, and Norseland Lutheran Church is still an active Lutheran Congregation. After 148 years in business, the Norseland General Store closed in 2006. It is at this store that Mr. Swensen showed me the store records of the 1850s and 1860s. There, on the old ledgers, I saw the signatures of my ancestors from Telemark when they purchased goods on credit!

Gene Estensen, Contributor


a two story white building with a man standing in front of it
a two story white building with a man standing in front of it
Learn More:

Nicolet County Historical Society

Telesoga Issue May 2003

Big Bend Township

Chippewa County, Minnesota

J. K. Johnson, The History of Big Bend Township, Chippewa County, Minnesota, 1929, pp.11-13.

Excerpt Submitted by Helen Steele

Hans P. Blom emigrated with his family from Kviteseid,Telemarken, Norway, in the year 1854, arriving at Whitewater, Wisconsin during the latter part of August the same year. Two years later he, with several other families moved into Minnesota and bought a farm at Highland Prairie in Fillmore County.

In May 1869, having had glowing reports of the fertile lands in the Minnesota Valley then open to homestead entry, he sold his Fillmore County farm and prepared to move westward again. Several of his neighbors, having been smitten with Horace Greeley's advice "to go west," decided to make the trip in company with Mr. Blom. Accordingly, a caravan consisting of several covered wagons, or prairie schooners as they were called, was made ready for the trip to the "Promised Land."

One bright, sunshiny day in June the start was made: they "gee'd" and "hawed" and swung the whip over the oxen and made up the motive power for the trip. Eventually, the crooked trails that had been followed for several miles became less and less noticeable, and soon, they were out on the treeless and trackless prairie, wigwagging their way westward and ever westward. The land-seeking company consisted of the following persons with their families: Hans P. Blom, Gunder H. Blom, Paul H. Blom, C. T. Blom (Christopher), Anders Ness, Andreas, Ness, and Ole H. Blom, the minor son of the first named.

On America's Independence Day-July 4th -the caravan came to a halt near the east bank of the Chippewa River "somewhere several hundred miles from the old home in Fillmore." The next day, a reconnoitering party was made up, and the quest for homes began. Hans P. Blom bought the "rights" to a quarter section in 34, held by Sondov Aleckson for his brother. Gunder Blom staked a claim-the SW¼ in section 26, Paul Blom the SE¼ in section 22, C. T. Blom the SE¼ of section 26, Anders Ness the NW¼ and Andreas Ness sold to Isaac Syftestad. Ole Blom, being too young to make homestead entry at that time, returned in the fall to Forest City, Iowa, where he remained till in the fall of 1871 when he again came to Big Bend. In the meantime C.T. Blom had relinquished 80 acres of his holdings as 80 acres was all that anyone could get under the homestead laws at that time. Although only 20 years old at the time, Ole Blom filed on the N½ of the SE¼. But nobody knew his age, and he "got by" with it. Tollef Storaaslie filed in the NE¼ of section 22 but traded his claim in 1872 to John Folkestad for a farm in Freeborn County and went back there to make his permanent home. Jens Oftelie located on the NW¼ of section 22, but sold a few years later and went to Waseca county, his original American home.

In 1871, Ole Storaaslie located on the NE¼ of section 14 but sold his claim the same year to Lars Halvorson, who had just arrived in Big Bend. Mrs. Storaalie was also from Highland Prairie in Fillmore County. John Toxen and Henry Olson located in section 24 in 1871. John Sandland Located in section 24 in 1873. G . (Gilmore) P. Blom, a brother of Hans P. Blom, located in section 32 ( he was a Civil War vet), Kjostov Knutson in 28, Hans Nordby and Frans Carlson in section 20. All these were from Highland Prairie and came in the early part of 1870.

The above make up almost all of the "Telemarkings" that came to Big Bend in the later part of the Sixties and the early part of the Seventies. Most of them had been neighbors in Norway, where they were born, and they had been neighbors in Fillmore County before coming to Big Bend. In the "Bygd" of Kviteseid, Telemarken, their ancestry can be traced back many hundreds of years.

a Norwegian stamp featuring a covered wagon
a Norwegian stamp featuring a covered wagon
Learn More:

The History of Big Bend Township

Telesoga Issues:
Mar 1914
July 1914
May 2008

Minnehaha County
South Dakota

Sod Houses and Prairie Schooners," Minnesota History, 12:153-156 (June 1933) and reprinted in Norwegian Migration to America, Blegen, Theodore, C., 1940.

In 1859, six wagons of Norwegian pioneers set out from Stoughton, Wisconsin (Koshkonong) for Dakota. This was two years before the Dakota Territory was established and would become South Dakota. Because of a lack of trees, it was 1860 and 1861 before many more Norwegians went there. Then, the onslaught of the Sioux wars slowed settlement activity. According to the 1860 census, Dakota Territory had only 129 Norwegians.

Pioneer minister Abraham Jacobsen visited the Dakota settlements in the fall of 1861, traveling from Decorah with a party of eight Norwegians. On June 4, 1866, the first real Norwegian settlement was established in Minnehaha County, SD. John Thompson and Jonas Nelsen Fosmo took land near Sioux Falls. In 1868, the first Telemarkings arrived in Minnehaha County from Goodhue County, Minnesota. They were Andreas Hogstad and Halvor O. Ustrud. They were joined by families from Winneshiek County, Iowa, and Goodhue County, including Iver Bersheim of Hardanger and his two sons, Thomas and Ole. Ole and Soren Bergeson from Winneshiek, originally of Hedmarken, soon established a homestead there. Also, in June of the year, the first Tellers appeared at Canton, a caravan of 22 wagons besides other freight wagons, all from Eastern Iowa.

By 1870 there were 68 Norwegians in the county and in 1871, the first settlers came to Sioux Falls, SD. Lars Simonson was a Telemarken. It was at the Coulton settlement (Toapi and Grand Meadow Townships) where most Telemarkens settled down. Charles T. Austin (Kaase) was the leader of this settlement.

In 1873, Paster O. O. Sandro came to the Nidaros Congregation in Minnehaha County. By 1874, migration was well underway, with many Norwegians leaving Winneshiek County, IA, and Fillmore County, MN, for Rock County in the southwest corner of Minnesota and Minnehaha County in Dakota.

A boy living near the rim of the Dakota country in 1882 long remembered the pageant of pioneer caravans that passed on their way westward. "We watched the schooners come up from the south," he wrote many years later, "zigzagging up the tortuous trail like ships beating up against the wind. Slowly, they drew nearer - sometimes one, sometimes five or six in a fleet. Out to the road, we went to watch them pass, and it was the only event of interest from one day to another. Usually, the woman was sitting at the front driving the team, and beside her or peeking out of the front opening were a flock of dirty, tousled, tow-headed children. Often, she held a small baby in her arms. Behind followed a small herd of cattle or horses driven by the man and the boys on foot, for the rate of travel was a walk". Sometimes, the travelers would stop. "They told us where they came from, Fillmore or Goodhue County in Minnesota, or Wisconsin, or Iowa………Slowly, the wagons passed on, the children now peeking from the opening in the rear, the schooner receding into the distance, very much like a real ship plowing its way over a trackless sea and then disappearing below the horizon.

a black and white image of a sod house on the prairie
a black and white image of a sod house on the prairie

Norwegians in North Dakota

North Dakota stands out among its neighboring states with a population of about 176,000 claiming Norse descent; this figure, representing twenty-two percent of the state's population, is a testament to the unique Norwegian heritage celebrated in North Dakota. Minnesota's 759000 residents claiming Norwegian ancestry comprise only about 13 percent of its population.

Telemark settlers found their way to most of the major settlements in North Dakota in the late 1870s and early 1880s. In 1880, a band of Telers settled in the area of what is now Bue (named for the settlers' Norwegian home in Bø) in Nelson County. Their main cash crop was wheat, and they soon found that raising cattle was also quite lucrative. The main markets were in Valley City and Grand Forks.

Just south of Valley City in Barnes County lies a beautiful valley cut deep into the prairie. In 1880, Telers began to arrive in the Sheyenne River Valley near what would become Kathryn, ND. They said it reminded them of their Norwegian home.

Grand Forks County had a thriving Teler settlement, and many who came to that area along the Red River made the move to the Turtle Mountains along the Canadian border, straddling the county line between Bottineau and Rolette counties near the town of Dunseith. Among the first settlers arriving in 1883 were the Flaten, Medtvedt, and Aaland families from Telemark. The main crop was wheat, and they had to drive 100 miles to Devils Lake to market their products.

In the early years, Sioux Indians roamed the land. There were few if any, violent incidents, but the Native Americans did not understand property rights or privacy, and more than once on a winter morning, a settler would be startled to find a group of Indians huddled in the barn - or sitting by the fire in their cabins!

Also, in 1883, Sveinung Aslakson and Neri Bitubek from Rauland in Telemark were the first to settle in Eddy County. Telers were also among the first to stake their claims to land around McHenry in Foster County in 1885. Tollef Thompson, Levi Sem, and Nels Kastet each had a fine homestead and made a good living growing wheat. Their closest market was in Cooperstown, just 24 miles away.

Initially settling in the northern and eastern parts of the states, Norwegian pioneers' influence can be found throughout the state. Northwood, North Dakota, has the highest percentage (55%)of residents claiming Norwegian ancestry today.

a black and white image of 5 men in fur coats and hats holding bottle so champagne
a black and white image of 5 men in fur coats and hats holding bottle so champagne
Learn More:

North Dakota Digital Archive

Historical North Dakota Post Offices

Telesoga Issues:
Dec 1914
June 1918
Sept 1921
May 1982
Nov 1989
May 2007
May 2008
May 2011
Nov 2016
Nov 2018


Have a Telemark pioneer project you want to share? Let us know!

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