Norwegians in Wisconsin

This text, now revised and expanded with additional photographs and documents, offers a consise introduction to Wisconsin’s Norwegian immigrants. The narrative examines the mass migration of Norwegians from 1837, when Ole Nattestad became the first Norwegian settler in Wisconsin, to the late 19th century, when Norwegian immigration largely came to a close. The volume demonstrates the efforts of immigrants to balance newfound American customs with homeland traditions. New to this edition are the selected letters of Ole Munch Raeder, a scholar sent by the Norwegian goverment in 1847 to study the American legal system. Raedar visited several Wisconsin cities and villages and paid special attention to the Norwegian community. is accounts offer a contemporary view of Norwegian life in Wisconisn.