Norwegians in North Dakota

This is the third and last post in "The Way It Was" series.
Previously:
1. Native Americans
2. German from Russia
Next is Norwegians.

Notes from:
The Way It Was
The North Dakota Frontier Experience
Book Two: Norwegian Homesteaders
c. 1998
By Everett C. Albers and D. Jerome Tweton, Editors

Introductory Section:
The Norwegians in North Dakota History
D. Jerome Tweton

Why North Dakota?
The good farmland in other areas of America had been taken. North Dakota area had a reputation as fertile region for farming.

Very few Norwegians went directly to North Dakota upon arrival in the United States. Some had been successfully farming elsewhere and reinvested where the land was free. Others saved up enough money to start a farming operation and then moved to North Dakota.

Like other immigrant groups, they tended to cluster together.



They preferred the river valley areas of the state.

Like the Germans from Russia, they also combined the various land laws to acquire large chunks of land.

That's about it for the introductory section on Norwegians. I was hoping to find more information on their story before they came to the United States.

The book continues with the individual settler stories recorded in the 1930s and on record in the state.

That's all I have of this series.
I blogged three: Norwegians, Native People, Germans from Russia
And briefly mentioned Book One on Sod-busters. There wasn't much of an introductory text in that one. It did give more details on collecting the stories.

Other books in the series:
1. The Cowboys & Ranchers (Book 3)
2. The Townspeople
3. The Horse and Buggy Doctors
4. The Teachers

I liked how these books were done. They don't give you a big heavy data dump. Just a nice brief clear introductory summary and then on to the personal stories and experiences.