Macalester College

Founded in 1874, Macalester College began as a Presbyterian college with few resources and only six students. The private liberal arts college became known for its rigorous academics and commitment to internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society.

City of Harmony

The City of Harmony traces its origins to an 1854 Norwegian settlement called Greenfield Prairie, just outside the town’s current southern edge. Its creation, population growth, and lasting economic vitality were made possible by the arrival of the Caledonia, Mississippi and Western Railway in 1879.

Henrytown

Drivers may easily miss Henrytown, a rural hamlet five miles north of Canton, as they speed through it on Fillmore County Highway 21. In 2018, not much exists to indicate it was once a town populated by hardworking immigrants who dreamed of building a thriving and long-lasting community.

Norwegian-style ale bowl

Norwegian-style ale bowl

Norwegian-style ale bowl carved by Hans Sandom and painted by Karen Jenson in Milan, Minnesota, ca. 2000.

Image of Sons of Norway Button

Sons of Norway Button

Pinback button commemorating the dedication of a Sons of Norway lodge home in Albert Lea, Minnesota, 1978.

Photograph of Minnesota's first state flag

Minnesota's first state flag

Minnesota's first State flag, designed by Amelia Hyde Center of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and embroidered by Pauline and Thomane Fjelde, immigrants to Minnesota from Norway and respected needleworkers. The flag was exhibited and won a gold medal at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893.

Image of Spinning Wheel

Spinning wheel used by Norwegian immigrants

Spinning wheel made in 1845 in Norway by Ole Johnson Helland, a fisherman. Ole and his wife, Anne Martha Olsdatter, immigrated to the United States in the 1870s and brought the wheel to Fillmore County, Minnesota. There, Ole's son, Henry O. Helland Ulven, met and married Betsey Pederson, daughter of Norwegian immigrants. The couple moved to Dakota Territory, settling in Clear Lake, South Dakota, where Betsey used the wheel for spinning her own yarn and knitting clothing for her family.

Photograph of a painted trunk used by a Norwegian immigrant

Norwegian immigrant's trunk

Wooden trunk with a domed lid made in Norway and brought to Minnesota in 1825. The trunk is painted with rosemaling inside and out and has wrought iron top and side bail handles, as well as side braces and lock plate. "Fidri, Knuds, Datter, Ldjen, Aar 1825" is painted on the front.

Photograph of girl in Norwegian Costume

Girl in Norwegian costume

Girl in Norwegian costume, ca. 1930.

HOW NORWEGIANS HAVE SHAPED THE STATE

Norwegian Immigration to Minnesota

Driven to emigrate by overpopulation, unfulfilled nationalism, and a fractured economy, hundreds of thousands of Norwegians came to Minnesota Territory, and then to the state of Minnesota, between 1851 and 1920, making the Twin Cities the unofficial capital of Norwegian America. Internal religious and social conflicts shaped the group’s experience in its new home as much as Minnesota’s climate and geography.

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