Archives West Finding Aid

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many people of Scandinavian origin came to the United States in search of arable land, economic security, religious freedom, and the opportunity for social mobility. Many settled in rural farming areas in the Midwest; a growing number found work in urban industry or entrepreneurship. As Scandinavian Americans achieved economic success, they developed distinct religious, cultural, and political organizations. By the end of the Civil War, many Scandinavian Americans once again left the familiar communities they had developed and relocated to the western frontier.

These western settlers were struck by the Pacific Northwest's physical similiarity to their Scandinavian homelands. The abundance of mountains, forests, and waterways provided economic opportunities in familiar vocations, namely logging, boatbuilding, and fishing. Transcontinental travel via the railroad and information from western settlers enticed greater numbers of people, and the 1880s was consequently a period of widespread migration to the Pacific Northwest, specifically the Washington Territory.

Scandinavians migrating from the Midwest as well as immigrating from Europe quickly comprised a significant portion of Washington's rapidly growing population. They worked in many sectors of the economy and developed social, political, religious, and cultural institutions that celebrated their heritage; eased the transition to the new area; provided aid to settlers, the unemployed, or the widowed; and encouraged commonly accepted values like temperance. These groups also sponsored festivals and celebrations at holiday time as well as song, dance, and theater performances. Publications in native languages became widely available and covered news from the Old Country as well as local issues.