Here we have the first Norwegian settlement in the
State of Iowa. And the first settlers were Ole
Halvorsen Valle and Ole Tollefsen
Kittilsland, both from Nummedal. They came here
to the area of St. Olaf from Koshkonong, Wis. in
The land was for the most part covered in forest, but
as soon as they removed it, they began to prepare for
growing wheat, which became the main source of
income. The nearest marketplace was McGregor. They
used oxen for driving and plowing. Day pay at that
time was 50 cents.
The first white child born in the settlement was
Jørond Halvorson Valle, b. 20 Sept. 1846.
The second oldest Norwegian woman in Iowa lives in
this county. Her name is Kari Olsdatter. She was born
in Norway, the 26th Sept, 1806. In 1869, she came to
Gunder, Ia. where she has lived, at least until
recently. (The very oldest Norwegian person in Iowa
is mentioned in Webster County)
There are 4 Norwegian churches and 5 congregations in
Clayton Co., 4 of them belong to The United Church
and 1 with Hauge's Synod.
The Norwegian Ole Nielsen has held the position as
Co. Surveyor. For further information, see the
section 'Norwegians in public positions in America'.
St. Olaf Township and post office is of Norwegian
origin. The same is the case with Gunder P.O.
*Here it must be noted that the pioneer Halvor
Valle, who was mentioned in Clayton County in
connection with the first permanent Norwegian
settlement in Iowa, stayed in Winneshiek Co. for a
time - as early as 1842. He was there in government
service and so, not as a settler at that time,
but later - after having lived in Clayton Co. for
some years, moved back and settled in Winneshiek.
© 2004 All Rights Reserved. Translated by
Olaf Kringhaug Vernon, British Columbia,
Canada. Published by Olaf Kringhaug
(deceased) and Margit
or redistribution of content or any derivative work
for "private use only" is permitted, as
long as users acknowledge and attribute any use of
material found on this website to Olaf Kringhaug. No
part of this translation may be reproduced or reused
for commercial use without written consent from
Nordmændene i Amerika by Martin
~Posted on the Clayton co. IAGenWeb with permission
of Margit Bakke & Olaf Kringhaug. Click on the
link to her website (above) to read Olaf's
translations for other Iowa counties.
~Note! The above credit and copyright notification
was revised to acknowledge Olaf's death and to
replace the original URL for Margit's website with
the one that now appears in the notification -
4/16/2012 by the Clayton co. coordinator