Muskego Settlement
Encyclopedia
The Muskego Settlement was one of the first Norwegian American
settlements in the United States. Situated near today's Muskego, Wisconsin
, the Muskego Settlement covered areas within what is now the town of Norway, Wisconsin
.
. They had been encouraged to seek their fortunes in Wisconsin by the pioneer Nattestad brothers. Ansten and Ole Knudsen Nattestad
had immigrated during 1838 from Vaegli in Numedal
, Norway
, to establish the first Norwegian-American immigrant community in Wisconsin at Jefferson Prairie Settlement
of Rock County
.
The party staked out 640 acres (2.6 km²) in two sections in Waukesha County. The following year two other settlers, Søren Tollefsen Bache and Johannes Johannsen, settled in an adjacent area in Racine County, just south of the first settlement, in what is now the town of Norway, Wisconsin
. The Muskego Settlement thus came to straddle the county border.
Johannes Johannsen and Søren Bache both played important roles in the life of this colony. It was Johannes Johansen who drafted the Muskego Manifesto of 1845, an open letter by the Muskego colonists to the people of Norway, answering the anti-emigration propaganda of the Norwegian government. The Muskego Manifesto was published in the Norwegian newspaper Morgenbladet in Christiania
on April 1, 1845. Johansen died less than a year after writing this manifesto.
Søren Bache remained prominent in the affairs of Muskego for several years. He served as one of the founders of Nordyset, the first Norwegian language newspaper published in the United States and was the author of a remarkable pioneer diary. Søren Bache returned to Norway in 1847. Bache settled in Lier, Norway
, where he died in 1890.
Even Hansen Heg (1790-1850) was among a number of other immigrants who soon followed. In Drammen, Norway, Heg had been the owner and operator of a hotel. Even Heg established a transit center of sorts for immigrants. The Heg barn was erected at Muskego during 1843. This barn, the first home in America for many Norwegian immigrant, became a social and religious center in the frontier area. His spacious barn played a prominent part in the early history of the settlement, both as an assembly place and as a social and religious center for the Muskego community of Norwegian immigrants.
Claus Lauritz Clausen
arrived during 1843, becoming the pastor in the Muskego settlement. He organized the first Norwegian Lutheran Church in America congregation that came out of the Norwegian state-church tradition within the Muskego Settlement. Clausen also organized and served as pastor of several nearby Lutheran churches.
Elling Eielsen
, who had immigrated to the United States during 1839, had first arrived at Muskego prior to moving to the Jefferson Prairie Settlement
. Eielsen was a resident Lutheran pastor in the Haugean
tradition at Jefferson Prairie from 1846 to 1872. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Eielsen Synod
) founded in 1846 at the Jefferson Prairie Settlement, was to bear his name.
James DeNoon Reymert
, who had immigrated to the United States during 1842, settled in the Muskego Settlement in 1847. Reymert, Even Hansen Heg and Søren Bache agreed to start the Norwegian language newspaper Nordyset. Reymert continued to serve as editor the paper until 1850, when it was sold and was moved to Racine, Wisconsin
.
Swamp fever
, ague
, and malaria
plagued the early settlers at Muskego. The settlement was afflicted by cholera
at least twice, in 1849 and 1851. Ultimately, the original settlement site was abandoned, and the settlers relocated principally to other locations in southern Wisconsin.
The State of Wisconsin erected a Historic Marker during 1963 to commemorate the Muskego Settlement. It is located at the entrance to Norway Evangelical Lutheran Church, across from Heg Park, on Wisconsin Highway 36 in Wind Lake, Wisconsin
. The inscription of the plaque acknowledges the leadership of John Luraas, Even Hansen Heg, Johannes Johannsen, Søren Bache, Elling Eielsen
, Claus Lauritz Clausen
and James DeNoon Reymert
.
Norwegian American
Norwegian Americans are Americans of Norwegian descent. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the later half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans according to the most recent U.S. census, and...
settlements in the United States. Situated near today's Muskego, Wisconsin
Muskego, Wisconsin
Muskego is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 21,397. Its 2006-2008 estimated population was 22,851. Muskego is the fifth largest community in Waukesha County. The name Muskego is derived from the Potawatomi Indian name for the...
, the Muskego Settlement covered areas within what is now the town of Norway, Wisconsin
Norway, Wisconsin
Norway is a town in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,600 at the 2000 census. The census-designated place of Wind Lake, Wisconsin is in the town of Norway...
.
History
John Nielsen Luraas first led the colony which was founded in 1839, primarily by immigrants from the Norwegian county of TelemarkTelemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
. They had been encouraged to seek their fortunes in Wisconsin by the pioneer Nattestad brothers. Ansten and Ole Knudsen Nattestad
Ole Knudsen Nattestad
Ole Knudsen Nattestad was a Norwegian-American leader and pioneer immigrant settler. Together with his brother Ansten Nattestad, he played a key role in promoting immigration from Norway and for directing immigrants to southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.-Biography:The Nattestad farm was in...
had immigrated during 1838 from Vaegli in Numedal
Numedal
Numedal is a traditional district and valley Buskerud, Norway. Running north–south, it extends between Kongsberg in the south to Rødberg in the north, passing through the municipalities of Kongsberg, Flesberg, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal.. The river Numedalslågen, the third-longest in the country,...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, to establish the first Norwegian-American immigrant community in Wisconsin at Jefferson Prairie Settlement
Jefferson Prairie Settlement
Jefferson Prairie Settlement was a pioneer colony of Norwegian-Americans located near the village of Clinton, in Rock County, Wisconsin. This site and the nearby Rock Prairie settlement outside Orfordville, Wisconsin served as a center for both Norwegian immigration and developments within the...
of Rock County
Rock County, Wisconsin
-Unincorporated communities:-Further reading:* . Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879.* Brown, William F. , Chicago: Cooper, 1908.* Brown, William F. , Chicago: Cooper, 1908....
.
The party staked out 640 acres (2.6 km²) in two sections in Waukesha County. The following year two other settlers, Søren Tollefsen Bache and Johannes Johannsen, settled in an adjacent area in Racine County, just south of the first settlement, in what is now the town of Norway, Wisconsin
Norway, Wisconsin
Norway is a town in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,600 at the 2000 census. The census-designated place of Wind Lake, Wisconsin is in the town of Norway...
. The Muskego Settlement thus came to straddle the county border.
Johannes Johannsen and Søren Bache both played important roles in the life of this colony. It was Johannes Johansen who drafted the Muskego Manifesto of 1845, an open letter by the Muskego colonists to the people of Norway, answering the anti-emigration propaganda of the Norwegian government. The Muskego Manifesto was published in the Norwegian newspaper Morgenbladet in Christiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
on April 1, 1845. Johansen died less than a year after writing this manifesto.
Søren Bache remained prominent in the affairs of Muskego for several years. He served as one of the founders of Nordyset, the first Norwegian language newspaper published in the United States and was the author of a remarkable pioneer diary. Søren Bache returned to Norway in 1847. Bache settled in Lier, Norway
Lier, Norway
Lier is an affluent municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lier. The municipality of Lier was established on 1 January 1838...
, where he died in 1890.
Even Hansen Heg (1790-1850) was among a number of other immigrants who soon followed. In Drammen, Norway, Heg had been the owner and operator of a hotel. Even Heg established a transit center of sorts for immigrants. The Heg barn was erected at Muskego during 1843. This barn, the first home in America for many Norwegian immigrant, became a social and religious center in the frontier area. His spacious barn played a prominent part in the early history of the settlement, both as an assembly place and as a social and religious center for the Muskego community of Norwegian immigrants.
Claus Lauritz Clausen
Claus Lauritz Clausen
Claus Lauritz Clausen was an American pioneer Lutheran minister, church leader, military chaplain and politician.-Biography:...
arrived during 1843, becoming the pastor in the Muskego settlement. He organized the first Norwegian Lutheran Church in America congregation that came out of the Norwegian state-church tradition within the Muskego Settlement. Clausen also organized and served as pastor of several nearby Lutheran churches.
Elling Eielsen
Elling Eielsen
Elling Eielsen was an American minister and Lutheran Church leader.-Background:Eielsen was born on the farm of Sunve in Voss, Norway and brought up in the religious tradition of Hans Nielsen Hauge...
, who had immigrated to the United States during 1839, had first arrived at Muskego prior to moving to the Jefferson Prairie Settlement
Jefferson Prairie Settlement
Jefferson Prairie Settlement was a pioneer colony of Norwegian-Americans located near the village of Clinton, in Rock County, Wisconsin. This site and the nearby Rock Prairie settlement outside Orfordville, Wisconsin served as a center for both Norwegian immigration and developments within the...
. Eielsen was a resident Lutheran pastor in the Haugean
Haugean
Haugean was a pietistic state church reform movementintended to bring new life and vitality into a Norwegian State Church which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy....
tradition at Jefferson Prairie from 1846 to 1872. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Eielsen Synod
Eielsen Synod
The Eielsen Synod was a Lutheran church body. It was founded in 1846 at Jefferson Prairie Settlement, Wisconsin by a group of Haugean Lutherans led by Elling Eielsen.-Background:...
) founded in 1846 at the Jefferson Prairie Settlement, was to bear his name.
James DeNoon Reymert
James DeNoon Reymert
James DeNoon Reymert was an American newspaper editor, mine operator, lawyer and politician. He was a pioneer settler in Wisconsin Territory, early elected official in the state of Wisconsin and founded the first Norwegian language newspaper to be published in the United States.-Background:Reymert...
, who had immigrated to the United States during 1842, settled in the Muskego Settlement in 1847. Reymert, Even Hansen Heg and Søren Bache agreed to start the Norwegian language newspaper Nordyset. Reymert continued to serve as editor the paper until 1850, when it was sold and was moved to Racine, Wisconsin
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
.
Swamp fever
Swamp fever
Swamp fever is a term given to a number of diseases that are acquired in wet, swampy environments. Swamp fever may refer to:* Leptospirosis* Malaria* Equine infectious anemia...
, ague
Ague
Ague may refer to:* Fever* MalariaSee also:* Kan Ague, a residential area of Patikul, Sulu, Philippines...
, and malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
plagued the early settlers at Muskego. The settlement was afflicted by cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
at least twice, in 1849 and 1851. Ultimately, the original settlement site was abandoned, and the settlers relocated principally to other locations in southern Wisconsin.
The State of Wisconsin erected a Historic Marker during 1963 to commemorate the Muskego Settlement. It is located at the entrance to Norway Evangelical Lutheran Church, across from Heg Park, on Wisconsin Highway 36 in Wind Lake, Wisconsin
Wind Lake, Wisconsin
Wind Lake is a census-designated place in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,342 at the 2010 census. Wind Lake is in the town of Norway.-Geography:Wind Lake is located at ....
. The inscription of the plaque acknowledges the leadership of John Luraas, Even Hansen Heg, Johannes Johannsen, Søren Bache, Elling Eielsen
Elling Eielsen
Elling Eielsen was an American minister and Lutheran Church leader.-Background:Eielsen was born on the farm of Sunve in Voss, Norway and brought up in the religious tradition of Hans Nielsen Hauge...
, Claus Lauritz Clausen
Claus Lauritz Clausen
Claus Lauritz Clausen was an American pioneer Lutheran minister, church leader, military chaplain and politician.-Biography:...
and James DeNoon Reymert
James DeNoon Reymert
James DeNoon Reymert was an American newspaper editor, mine operator, lawyer and politician. He was a pioneer settler in Wisconsin Territory, early elected official in the state of Wisconsin and founded the first Norwegian language newspaper to be published in the United States.-Background:Reymert...
.
Other sources
- A Chronicle of Old Muskego: The Diary of Søren Bache, 1839-1847 (Translated and edited by Clarence A. Clausen and Andreas Elviken. Norwegian-American Historical Association. Northfield, MN. 1951)
- Muskego: Then and Now (Ringerike-Drammen District Lag. Volume 23, Number 2. May 2008)
- Blegen, Theodore C.Theodore C. BlegenTheodore Christian Blegen was an American historian and author. Theodore Blegen was the author of numerous historic reference books, papers and articles written over a five decade period...
Norwegian Migration to America, 1825-1860 (Norwegian-American Historical Association, Northfield. 1940) - Barton, A. O. The Old Muskego Settlement ( Waukesha Freeman. September 7, 1916)
- Ulvestad, MartinMartin UlvestadMartin Ulvestad was an American historian and author whose writings focused on Norwegian-American immigration. Ulvestad was a pioneer in documenting the early history of the first Norwegian settlers in America.-Biography:...
Nordmaendene i Amerika: Deres Historie og Rekord (translated by Olaf Kringhaug. 1907)
Additional reading
- Anderson, Rasmus B. The First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration (1821–1840) Its Causes and Results (published by the author. Madison, Wis., 1896)
- Flom, George T.George T. FlomGeorge T. Flom was an American professor of linguistics and author of numerous reference books.-Background:...
A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States : from the earliest beginning down to the year 1848 (Privately Printed Iowa City : 1909) - Legler, Henry Eduard Leading Events of Wisconsin History: The Story of the State (The Sentinel Company. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 1898)