Early Norwegian Settlements in
Montana
Map of Montana 1895
Lewis and
Clark County, Montana
People often ask me the question, "Who was the greatest
Norwegian in America?" I answer that, "There are two who are the
greatest," - and both were born to simple, utterly poor but honest
people, both have worked very hard and both are modest in their conduct
to this very day.
As a public figure, naturally Senator Knute Nelson is the
greatest among us. The Norwegian who has achieved the most in
an industrial and commercial respect, however, is called Anton M.
Holter. He lives in Helena, Lewis & Clark Co., Montana and was the
first Norwegian settler in that State, as he had already settled there
in 1863.
Nelson is spoken of elsewhere. But here I have decided to
give a detailed account about Holter (whose biography is otherwise
little known to Norwegians) mainly to show what the rest of us (at
least partly) can achieve if we pull ourselves together and follow his
path. Nor can I ignore what we owe such men - at the very least we owe
them thanks and recognition. Then there is another fact that in our own
interest we should always remember - the fact that when we honor those
who have cast some lustre on us, we gain as a people. On the other
side we must remember that envy is the worst illness that we
Norwegian-Americans have been prone to and it would be in our best
interest to watch out for it in the future.
But, back to Holter. His interests are so extensive that
he is away most of the time. Unfortunately I have not found him at home
during my travels in Montana. Therefore I permit myself to utilize an
account about him that appeared some years ago in "Illustrerte
Husbibliothek", published by John Anderson Pub. Co., Chicago. The
author writes as follows:
"On my first visit to Helena, Montana's capitol, I had the
pleasure of making the acquaintance of that place's and the State's
most prominent Norwegian and in a couple of later visits I was able to
renew and extend that acquaintance. Even though Mr. Holter seems to be
that busy city's busiest businessman he still had a few minutes to
spare for a chat and in his pleasant home I spent a couple of
educational and entertaining evenings. I found this man, who the City's
and State's citizens look up to as a leader in all important industrial
and public enterprises, so modest and taciturn that, even though
I flatter myself that I have considerable skill as an
interviewer, I found it difficult to prevail upon him to speak about
himself or anything about his life and activities. When I gave him to
understand that I wished to collect data for a biographical sketch
about him in "Illustrerte Husbibliothek", his normally friendly face
took on an offended expression and he suggested
that according to Norwegian tradition it would
be soon enough to write his biography when he was dead. But
when I explained to him the purpose of these biographical sketches was
partly to make the readers aware of men who had risen to prominent
positions and partly to assemble data for future historians who will
write histories about Scandinavians or Norwegians in America, he
relented and directed me to 'Magazine of Western History' where I would
find a rather reliable, if brief, biography of him. The following is
written partly from that source and partly from other sources.
Anton M. Holter was born at Moss the 29th June 1831. He
had two older brothers and a younger brother and sister. His father,
who was a seaman, perished when Anton was just eight years old and
since his mother was in poor circumstances he was raised by her brother
who was a farmer. After having received the usual schooling in reading,
writing and religion in the circuit school of that time, he left his
uncle's house and was apprenticed to a butcher. As a boy he had a
great desire to become a seaman like his father but because of
that sad conclusion, his mother and relatives convinced him to give
that up. He found the butcher trade so revolting that within a
year he left it and went into apprenticeship with a carpenter, who
offered him free board and 10 spesiedaler a year for the first three
years. The trades apprentices of that time did not seem to have the
same opportunity to obtain book learning as later for the only training
in arithmetic the boy received was from his brother, an hour in the
evening for four evenings.
At the age of 23 Anton M. Holter decided to go to America
- a land to which his thoughts had been directed for it was on a trip
to America in 1839 that his father perished in a shipwreck. He
arrived in Quebec on a sailship the 25th May 1854. Right after his
arrival he received a taste of the many dangers that one is
exposed to in this country when the immigrant train had an accident in
which five of his fellow passengers were killed. Before the immigrants
arrived at their destination of Iowa, cholera broke out among them and
at a place near Rock Island they were placed in quarantine. However,
Holter was fortunate to escape with his chest on his shoulder to a
nearby steamboat and even though he did not know any English he reached
Winneshiek County, where he found many of his countrymen. Here he
revealed one of his features to which he attributes much of his later
prosperity, namely farsightedness. While other carpenters would rather
be unemployed than accept less than the usual pay of a dollar a day he
decided, against his friends' counsel, to accept an offer of steady
work for 20 dollars a month. He put his spare money into real estate
that rose so rapidly in price that after a year he had a worth of
3000 dollars. Like many other immigrants who had not lived long
enough in the country to begin to feel at home there, but had been
fortunate enough to accumulate a small fortune, Holter began to think
of going back to his fatherland where he with such an amount in his
pocket would be seen as a rich man. But his desire to see more of this
great land took over and the next four years he spent alternately
working at his trade and making trips to Missouri, western Iowa and
northern Minnesota. The latter two areas were occupied at that time by
the warlike Sioux Indians.
The great depression of 1857 almost completely washed away
Holter's fortune and most of 1859 he lay sick with swamp
fever and brain fever. By the spring of 1860 he was well enough that he
and his brother Martin M. Holter, who had now arrived in the country,
could join a company that wished to seek their fortunes in
the unknown area that was described by the vague name of
Pike's Peak - now Colorado. In the following 21⁄2 years the brothers
earned a bit of money here, partly from farming and partly by
mine work. It was at this time that the immensely huge gold finds were
discovered at a place later called Virginia City, Montana. Mr. Holter
had already learned that prospecting and digging for gold was an
uncertain occupation, but it was exactly because of this uncertainty
and the great fortunes that could sometimes suddenly be earned,
that it has such an attraction for people and that in every gold
camp there are excellent opportunities to earn money in completely
secure ventures. He decided therefore to go to Virginia City to
erect a sawmill there to supply the rapidly growing city with
building materials. The 16th September 1863 Mr. Holter left Denver in
the company of a man by the name of Evanson and with the
most necessary machinery for a sawmill loaded on wagons drawn by
oxen, and after innumerable dangers and frightful hardships they
arrived on the 1st September at Alder Gulch, 18 miles from Virginia
City, where they decided to build their sawmill after having left
behind almost everything but the machinery on the way because of the
deep snow.
Mr. Holter now had an excellent opportunity to show
and develop another feature in his character, a spirit and energy that
defied opposition and adversity. The great snow mass would have
frightened off almost everyone else from taking on any building before
the spring, but Mr. Holter undauntedly began the work.
A road had to be built through the forest and since the snow was
too deep for the oxen, a hand sled had to be constructed and the
timber pulled out on it. Then the timber was sawn with a hand saw
into planks for the mill. There was no smithy in the area so an axe had
to be used as an anvil and the bellows made from a raincoat. That
part of the equipment that was used to feed the saw had gone missing on
the way, but Holter was inventive enough and arranged a system of ropes
to that purpose. Despite all the difficulties the sawmill was erected
by the two men with only one other man's help for a short time, and
several thousand feet of boards and planks were sawn before the snow
left the fields. That these sold for a fantastic price, need not be
said. The next summer Evanson returned to Colorado to buy more
machinery but instead he bought oxen and wagons that he loaded up with
flour, nails and an old planing mill. On his return trip he was snowed
in at the Snake River, where the oxen died of starvation and the goods
were lost with the exception of a few sacks of flour and several
hundred pounds of nails that in the spring of 1865 he brought to
Helena, a new mining camp called Last Chance Gulch where he sold the
flour for a hundred dollars and the nails for 11⁄2 dollars a pound. But
Evanson's unfortunate trip had caused the business such a loss that it
was seen as wisest to quit. Mr. A. M. Holter now took his brother
Martin, who had recently arrived in the Territory, as a
partner in the firm A. M. Holter & Bro. In the meantime A. M.
Holter had built a sawmill in Helena and soon after he built the first
planing mill in the Territory. In 1867 the brothers opened the first
general store in Helena, but one line after another was given up until
the business only dealt with hardware. In 1887, Martin Holter withdrew
from this branch of the business and A. M. Holter formed the A. M.
Holter Hardware Company - the first business of that sort in the State.
However, Mr. Holter has not just expanded his lumber
business until he now owns large tracts of forest in Montana, Idaho,
Washington and Oregon, but he has also bought shares and parts in gold,
silver, copper and coal mines until he is now one of the largest
mine owners in the country. Besides he is owner or part owner of a
large number of industrial and commercial enterprises and bank
companies. To give the readers an understanding of
his extensive business holdings, we can state here that he is a
part owner and director of 28 companies that own and operate mines,
smelters, stamp mills etc, of 2 lumber companies (as well as partner in
the lumber firm A. M. Holter & Bro.), of 2 hardware companies,
3 waterworks and water power companies, 1 brick works, 1 foundry, 2
land companies, 2 electric light companies, 2 streetcar companies, 1
national bank, 1 sampling works company and 1 gas company. He is
president of 16 of the 48 companies and has been the founder of 46 of
them. Even though some of the mines are operated at a loss, it is just
a trifle compared to the riches that some of them will deliver. When we
take into account that it is only a few years since Holter laid the
basis for his fortune, its great size must be seen as surprising.
As already pointed out, Holter's activities stretch far
beyond his State's borders. It has been aptly said, "While the
Pacific's waves crash on the banks of his forests in Oregon, the
Atlantic sprays its foam on his copper smelter's walls in Bridgeport,
Connecticut."
About Mr. Holter's life and activities, his biographer C.
P. Connolly in the aforementioned article writes, "Mr. Holter is
one of those active and tireless spirits and it is to that
that any future that families that wish to live in the
Northwest, especially Montana, will to a large degree owe to the
excellent inheritance that awaits them. He does not possess only the
ability to make plans for magnificent projects, but also to complete
them. He is one of Helena's pioneers and no one there receives a
greater degree of their contemporaries' esteem. As a Republican he has
filled several offices with honor to himself and
to his voters' satisfaction. He was the first Republican to
be elected to any position in Helena. In 1886 he was elected as a
member of the school board and served as such for three terms.* He was
elected a member of the Territorial Legislature in 1878 and in 1880
elected as a member of the City Council in Helena and was
its President. In 1889 he was elected a member of the State
Legislature. For two terms he was President of the Chamber of Commerce.
For a long time he was the President of The Montana Pioneer Association
and on his resignation of that office he gave a speech at the annual
meeting in 1890 that drew much attention.
It is just weak praise to say about Mr. Holter that
his career, from the instant he fearlessly flung himself against
the inexorable natural forces and the difficulties that meet every
young man in a new and unoccupied land, has been honourable and
historic. Even though Montana, when Mr. Holter came there, was rich in
opportunities, also at that time there was much lawlessness and
danger for life and property. Only those who earned that progress that
many pioneers have achieved had the courage to throw
themselves into these dangers, difficulties and want. Only an
undaunted spirit could challenge the adversities that Mr. Holter had to
undergo. In his journeys alone in the wild and almost unknown areas of
the Rockies he had many a meeting with robbers, from which his courage
and resourcefulness saved him.
Mr. Holter told me about one of those encounters one
evening in a manner that suggested that he, in those days, saw it
as an everyday occurrence. He had visited a mining camp and had
received a lot of money. Accustomed to keeping an eye out for
people with a suspicious appearance, he was soon aware that a man
followed on his heels wherever he went. He immediately suspected him of
being a robber. When he had gone a short way on his
trip home and into some woods, he dismounted at a place where he he
could see well back on the trail. He tied his horse and lay down at the
side of the road with his revolver in his hand and a log under his head
so he could see the road. Quite right! A rider came after him at full
gallop. He did not see Holter before he spotted the big
revolver and it must have seemed as big as a cannon to him. When
the man rode past Holter, he cast a frightened glance back at his lost
loot and Holter recognized him as the man who had followed him in the
camp. When the robber had ridden by, Holter mounted his horse and
followed him with his revolver aimed at him until he took a side route.
From the top of a hill, Holter could see that he had taken a detour
back to the camp.
In the book 'Vigilante Days and Ways' one can read a
detailed account of an encounter that Holter once had with
infamous highwayman Ives and one of his comrades. Even though Holter
always carried a revolver, he worried so little about robbers that
he neglected to keep it in serviceable condition. When he saw the
two strangers, he pulled out his revolver to be prepared 'in case of
need', he found it was so rusted that it would not revolve. Therefore
he had to wait for the robber's arrival unarmed. With his revolver
aimed at Holter, Ives demanded his money, he delivered his empty
wallet. This did not satisfy the robber, who then asked him to
empty his pockets but only in one of them there were a few bills.
Exasperated by the poor result the robber threatened to kill
Holter if he could not come up with more money, but when Holter began
to leave, the robber regretted he had been merciful and shot at him. By
looking back at the same instant, Holter noted that the robber was
ready to shoot him so he dropped suddenly and the bullet went through
his hat and creased his head. The robber shot again but it misfired.
Holter now took to his heels and before the robber could catch him a
rider came into view and therefore they thought it advisable to
flee.
In the struggle against difficulty, in which Mr. Holter
has wrested a rich result from a hard nature for himself and his, he
has made resolution and perseverance his most conspicuous feature. His
judgment and vision has often been of value to the public and he
has always been active to advance the public good. He is a man of
modest and straightforward demeanor, a deep and logical thinker and
when he expresses his opinion publicly or privately, he is listened to
with respect. He is a representative of his fatherland's pluck."
VorFrelsers Congregation, that was established in Helena
in 1890 by Pastor N. N. Bø, belonging to The Norwegian Synod was
the first Norwegian congregation in the county. Its church was built
the same year. The Methodist’s also have a congregation and church there.
'Montana Folkeblad' was started in Helena in 1890. See the
section, 'Norwegian-American newspapers and periodicals'.
In Madison County there is a place called Norwegian Gulch
but no Norwegians - at least not now.
*It can be added that he was elected Railroad Commissioner (for
Montana Territory) in 1876. And when it says 'he was the first
Republican to be elected to any public position in Helena' it should
say in Lewis and Clark County instead of Helena and it should be
pointed out that Montana was overwhelmingly Democratic at that time so
it speaks doubly well for the Norwegian and Republican Holter that he
was victorious in the election. -- M.U.
Meagher County, Montana
Martin T. Grande from Ytterøen Parish was the first
Norwegian here. He came from Wyoming and settled in the vicinity
of Lennop* in 1877. He was employed in sheep raising. Helena was
his nearest marketplace when he first came here and to there it was 140
miles, so he had a long way to travel when he had to purchase life's
necessities or when he had something to sell.
There is a Norwegian congregation belonging to The
United Church. It was established in 1891 by Pastor J. A. Pedersen.
*An error for Lennep. OK
Rosebud County, Montana
Andrew Andersen from Nordfjord was the first Norwegian in
this county. He settled in the vicinity of Decker and has lived there
as a hermit between 20 and 30 years. The first at Birney were Tom
Salvesen, Tobias Salvesen, T. Larsen and T. Thompson, all from
Hitterø near Flekkefjord. They came to Montana in 1890 and
occupied themselves with cattle raising.
This area lies right by the Custer Battlefield, that is
historically renowned. A number of Indians of the Cheyenne tribe still
roam the area. They were a part of those Indians who destroyed
settlements in Minnesota that escaped westward after the Civil War.
Silverbow County, Montana
In this county there was also a number of Norwegians,
especially in Butte where a Norwegian congregation was established in
1891 by Pastor E. Ericksen, belonging to The Methodist Church. This was
thus the first in the county. Its church was built in 1892. In addition
to the mentioned congregation, there is one that belongs to The
Norwegian Synod. A considerable number of the Norwegian population here
is from Romsdalen.
Sweet Grass County,
Montana
Henry Ellingsen from Byneset near Trondhjem was the first
Norwegian in this county. He settled at Melville in 1881. O. L. Clausen
came the same year. Next after them came O. P. Fallang, B. Forsyth and
J. Gundersen.
J. L. Rapstad was the first, or at least one of the first
in Big Timber. As far as is known, Sam Solberg and O. C. Christensen
were the first in Howie.
The Indians were the lords of this region before the
Norwegians came. Livestock raising was the most important source of
income here.
The first Norwegian congregation in this county was
established at Melville in 1884 by Pastor P. J. Reinertsen, belonging
to The Augustana Synod. There are now two Norweguian congregations in
the county, both belonging to The United Church. (This shows that the
aforementioned congregation was the first - not only in this county,
but for the whole State)
O. A. Fallang, Sheriff, was the first Norwegian to hold
public office in Sweet Water County. For more detailed information see
the section, 'Norwegians in public positions on America'
Dawson County, Montana
Andrew Olsen from the Bergen area was the first Norwegian
to settle in this county. He came to the vicinity of Miles City from
Wisconsin in 1881 and began raising cattle. He is now dead. Next after
him came Jonas Halvorsen from Sole, Jæderen, Mikal Kolberg from
Thime, Jæderen, Carl Halling from Romsdalen, John Hillman from
Stavanger and John Sørensen from Aalesund.
The first Norwegian in the vicinity of Buford was Andrew
Foss from Voss. The first in the region of Circle were Peter C. Dreyer
from Oxnæs, Vesteraalen, Peter Rørvik from
Vigerøen, Søndmøre and Hans Grue from Næs,
Romerike.
One of my correspondents writes, "I live 90 miles from the
nearest post office and 40 miles from surveyed land. My neighbours are
extremely few in number and far away. We are a people fighting for our
lives. But we do not fight to get neighbours. On the contrary, we fight
to keep people away so that we can keep the plains to ourselves for our
cattle. That is certainly not right, strictly speaking, but it is the
reality. It would naturally be more pleasant to have a group of good
neighbours. But then our means of existence would be diminished. It is
about like that everywhere in Montana."
Another writer tells that he walked and waded in snow and
ice water a whole winter and only saw other people a couple of times.
It was only the mail driver that he saw. He adds that he lost a bit of
his health and was on the way to becoming insane after he spent the
long winter alone with his dogs and herded his livestock.
And that there are many who have lost both their health
and senses in the acquisition of a small fortune out there is, sadly, a
fact.
There is one Norwegian church and two congregations in the
county, one belongs to The United Church and the other to The Norwegian
Synod.
Jens Riveness, who was elected Court Clerk in 1900,
was to first Norwegian to hold public office in Dawson County.
Custer County, Montana
Bernt Mælum and Christian Andersen†, both from
Lillehammer as well as Enok Sve from Ørkedalen were the first
Norwegians in this county. They came from Union Co., S.D. and settled
here at Capitol in 1884. Next after them came John Buan and
Sivert Moltuen from Ørkedalen, James Garberg from Selbu and John
Teigen from Jostedalen. They worked at cattle raising exclusively. To
their nearest railroad station and marketplace at the beginning it was
150 miles, they had to go all the way to Miles City when there was a
question of buying or selling anything.
John Buan relates further: Sivert Moltuen and I left Union
Co., S.D. the 14th May 1886. We had our families and some livestock
with us and we each had a wagon. One day on the large Sioux Reservation
between Fort Pierre and the Black Hills we were surprised by the worst
hailstorm I have ever seen. It came so rapidly that we could not even
get the horses unhitched. Now there was an uproar! Women and children
cried, the horses were in a rage and our livestock were driven away by
the storm. When it was over we had to go several miles to find our
livestock.
We arrived here the 8th July after a journey of a little
over 2 months. We had many Indian encounters both on the way and after
our arrival, but they did nothing to us. When we settled here the area
was full of Texas oxen and cowboys. These cowboys (drovers) were at
that time just as dangerous as the Texas oxen, at least they were not
at all mother's best children. In 1887, one cowboy was shot by another
right by my house. Since then four murders have been committed here by
these half-wild drovers who have also had the habit of stealing
horses and cattle. So, it has not been pleasant to live here.
In 1890 during the first Indian War, we were in constant
fear of being attacked. We then built a fort - or more correctly we dug
a big cave in a high bluff and entrenched ourselves as best we could.
The settlement numbered 50 to 60 persons, among them 8 male adults, that
was all. One evening about a week before Christmas a message came from
Camp Knock, S.Dak., warning us that the Indians could be expected at
any time. That night we gathered at Bernt Mælum's and prepared for
battle. The next day we moved into the fort we had made. But we were
happy when we heard that the Indian chief Sitting Bull and many of his
men had been killed and the rest had fled. He was killed the night
after the aforementioned message reached us. But on the whole we now
had reason to be content. We waited and hoped for victory and it was
finished. Civilization had set its mark here also.
Carbon County, Montana
The first Norwegian the author knows of in Carbon County
is Tønnes E. Fosse from Sogndal. He came to Red Lodge in 1889
and began to work in the mines there. Later he began farming.
S. T. Simonsen from Valders was the first in Absarokee. He
settled there in 1892. He is a businessman, Justice of the Peace and
farmer. He was also in the Civil War, so he fitted not so badly with
the Crow Indians in Montana. Now, however, they are civilized. Next
after him came Jacob Lande and T. T. Brown, the former settled at
Absarokee and the latter at Columbus.
The first in the vicinity of Morris was Gunder Arthun from
Stavanger, he settled there in 1895.
Immanuel Congregation, that was established at Absarokee
in 1897 by Pastor J. E. Madson, of The United Church, was the first
Norwegian congregation in the county. Its church was built in 1899.
There are no other Norwegian churches yet. Nor are there more than 2
congregations - both belonging to The United Church.
Cascade County, Montana
Vor Frelsers Congregation, that was established at Great
Falls in 1891 by Pastor J. D. Ylvsaker, belonging to The Norwegian
Synod, was the first Norwegian congregation in Cascade County. Its
church was built in 1893. Besides the abovementioned congregation there
are two belonging to the Methodists. They each have their own church.
Lewis Roalsvik was the first and until now the only
Norwegian to hold a public position in the county. He was elected
Commissioner in 1900.
In the section, 'Sammenstilling av norsk Sambygdinger' one
will also find information about many other of the Norwegians
living here.
Flathead County,
Montana
There are not so many Norwegians in this county. Most live
in the vicinity of Kalispell, where two congregations were established
in 1895. One was established by Pastor N. J. Berg, belonging to The
Norwegian Synod, the other by Pastor J. J. Field, belonging to The
Methodist Church. Both congregations built their own churches in 1896.
Now there are altogether 3 congregations in the county, of which 2
belong to The United Church and 1 to the Methodists. There are no more
than the aforementioned churches yet.
The first Norwegian to hold public office here was Hans O.
Christensen, he was elected County Commissioner in 1899.
Jefferson County, Montana
The first Norwegian in this county was S. O. Myhre from
Hallingdal. He settled in the vicinity of Boulder in 1888 and was
occupied in mining. He owns a mine himself.
Norwegians are not numerous in this area. However there is
a small congregation belonging to The Norwegian Synod.
Gallatin County,
Montana
Ole K. Bervin from Hardanger is the first Norwegian the
author knows of in this county. He settled at Bozeman in 1891.
Before he came to Gallatin County, he lived in the eastern
part of the State, to which he came in 1881 and where he was in all
likelihood also the first Norwegian. He came up the Missouri River from
South Dakota by steamboat at that time because the Northern Pacific
Railroad was still under construction. Bervin's source of income in the
latter area was in buffalo hunting. There were actually many buffalo.
He lived in the so-called Bad Lands. He was surrounded by the Sioux
Indians but through a careful course of action he avoided
unpleasantness with them. But he could never feel secure. Now there are
many settlers and cattle ranchers in those places also.
In Gallatin County there is one congregation belonging to
The Norwegian Synod.
Teton County, Montana
Lars Næseth from Sogn was the first Norwegian in
this county. He settled in the vicinity of Farmington in 1895. Next
after him came Ed Bollerud, Joachim Pettersen, Nels Austad, Carl and
Gunder Hanson, Ole Thompson, Gilbert Grande, C. Rudom, Enok Pettersen,
J. L. Otnes, S. Lindseth, S. Otnes, Oluf Lindseth, Martin Larsen, Louis
Tollefsen and Tom Larsen. Cattle raising and mixed farming are the
county's leading sources of income.
The first Norwegian to hold public office in the county
was John E. Erickson, he was elected County Attorney in 1896 and in
1904 he was elected District Judge.
Trefoldigheds Congregation, that was established at
Farmington in 1901 by Pastor A. Lunde, belonging to The Norwegian
Synod, is the only Norwegian congregation in Teton County.
Deerlodge County,
Montana
Norwegians here are few and spread out. Here (in Anaconda)
there is a small church and congregation belonging to The Norwegian
Synod.
It is reported from Anaconda also that Carl Stenstrup, a
pioneer from Minnesota, died in that city recently. His parents were
both killed by the Indians during the disturbances in Minnesota in the
60s.
Fergus County, Montana
As far as is known, the first Norwegians here were Benj.
J. Hill, Christopher Aasland, Lars Lien, Johan Berge, Lars Anderson,
Thor Nelson, Oscar Anda and Peter Monson who live in the vicinity of
Gilt Edge. The year they settled there is not known.
Park County, Montana
Extremely few Norwegians here. However they have established a
little congregation served by priests from The Norwegian Synod. At
least they have had that service until now.
Yellowstone County, Montana
In the City of Billings and environs there are a number of
Norwegians. Pastor J. E. Madsen of The United Church established a
congregation there in 1905. There are no others.
Translated
by Olaf
Kringhaug
Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Nordmændene i Amerika by Martin Ulvestad, 1907
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