Immigrant News
Goose River, 1871.
NORWEGIAN SETTLERS have crossed the Red River and have taken land along the Goose River.
Richville, 1871.
ALBERT CHEZIK AND MATHEW LORENZ, Czech immigrants, walked here from St. Cloud, Minnesota. Because no land has been surveyed around here, they established squatter’s rights about two miles north of the settlement.
Walsh County, 1873.
JULIUS RISKE, THOMAS WIRKUS, AND FRANK NARLOCK have claimed homesteads on the Forest River in Ardoch and Pulaski Townships. They are the first immigrants from Poland to arrive in the area.
Cass County, 1878.
HILL TOWNSHIP is attracting people from Denmark. A distaste for army service and scarcity of land is given as the reason for their migration.
Pembina County, 1878.
JOHNAN HALLSON has become the first Icelandic homesteader—five miles west of Cavalier. He came via Manitoba and expects many more to follow him.
Junction of the Park and Red Rivers, 1878.
JOSEPH CHARPENTIER, of French nationality, has built a cabin at this place. In 1872 he, his wife, and children travelled by oxcart from southern Minnesota to near Abercrombie. When his wife died, he removed via Grand Forks to his present location.
Pembina County, 1880.
A GROUP OF BELGIANS have started a farming community south of Joliette.
Mayville, 1881.
HOM KEE, the town’s Chinese laundryman, has left for Brainerd. Kon Lee will run the business.
Painted Woods, 1882.
ELEVEN EASTERN EUROPEAN JEWISH families have arrived from Bismarck. Rabbi Judah Wechsler of St. Paul assisted the families in finding suitable land. The community is referred to as New Jerusalem.
New Salem, 1883.
JOHN CHRISTIANSEN, who has worked in St. Louis and on a Wisconsin dairy farm, joined the German Evangelical Colonization Society. He is New Salem’s first settler and arrived with a railroad carload of goods for other Germans who will arrive shortly.
Dickey County, 1883.
JOHN AND ELIZABETH MARTINSON have homesteaded in Ada Township. They left Finland for Norway in 1868 and came to this country in 1872 when they settled at Calumet, Michigan. He worked in lumber camps and copper mines for eleven years. Now they intend to farm.
Hebron, 1885.
THE FIRST BLACK SEA GERMAN CATHOLICS have arrived. These Germans from Russia plan on farming near Glen Ullin.
Lidgerwood, 1887.
JOHN W. MOVIUS, a medical doctor from Germany, and his two sons have opened a general store.
Emmons County, 1887.
IMMIGRANTS FROM HOLLAND have founded the town of Hull. The Holland Christian Reformed Congregation was instrumental in the movement.
Grand Forks, 1888.
OLAF BOSTROM, a native of Sweden, has begun work as a bricklayer. He is very busy.
By Dr. D. Jerome Tweton
Source
Originally published as The North Star Dakotan student newspaper, written by Dr. D. Jerome Tweton and supported by the North Dakota Humanities Council