Icelandic Settlements in Minnesota
- Jody Arman-Jones
- May 22
- 10 min read
By Jody Arman-Jones
This month Icelandic Roots explores the Icelandic settlements in Minnesota. The challenges faced were similar to many other settlements, but perseverance and hope prevailed. Their legacy lives on.
The journey to Minnesota was not an easy one for Icelandic emigrants of the 19th century. As described in They Chose Minnesota, A Survey of the State’s Ethnic Groups, (6) and again by Cathy Josephson in her aptly named presentation, Rails, Trails, Rivers and Trails, (11) multiple modes of transportation were needed to reach the “Midwest” of the United States. It truly boggles the imagination to think how difficult the trip was for the large waves of emigrants at that time.
Much has been written about the long, arduous journey from their homeland to North America. The vast majority of Icelanders left their home farms, often walking or a few using horses, to get to an emigration port in Iceland, carrying whatever personal belongings they wished to take with them. From these emigration ports, they boarded ocean-going vessels that usually took them to their first stop in Scotland or England and from there, a second ocean voyage was needed to get to North America.
Some Icelanders landed in east coast ports such as Halifax or New York, but more sailed up the St. Lawrence Seaway, landing in Canadian ports such as Montreal and Quebec City before traveling overland or boarding trains or other ships to navigate further into the North American continent. At some point, those options were unavailable, and ox carts and foot travel were then utilized.
“The main emigration began in the 1870s, when families and groups of families began moving to the Great Lakes states, seeking to escape the famine and overcrowding that had struck Iceland just as they had other Scandinavian lands. At first, the Icelanders did not arrive in sufficient numbers to start their own communities and so tended to attach themselves to Norwegian or Swedish farm settlements, or to go to work for established farmers. Within a few decades, though, Icelandic towns had been founded in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Icelandic schools established.” (13)
In addition to new opportunities, wonderful natural resources and amazing farmland, the Homestead Act, enacted by the United States government in 1862 during the US Civil War, drew many pioneers to the Midwest. It “provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to live on and “improve” their plot by cultivating the land. After five years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. Title could also be acquired after only a six-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre.” (7) The act was repealed in 1976 in the continental U.S. and in 1986 in Alaska.
“Minneota”
The first documented Icelanders to arrive in Minnesota appear to have settled in the southwestern part of the State. Many of you may be aware of the Minneota, Minnesota Icelandic settlement, due in great part to the publicity it received in 2025 during the 150th year since the arrival of its first Icelandic settler, Gunnlaugur Pétursson (I337829), his wife, Guðbjörg Jónsdóttir (I537431), and their family, on July 4, 1875. This settlement would grow to become, arguably, the largest Icelandic settlement in the United States and encompass three counties of the State: Lincoln, Lyon, and Yellow Medicine.
Chronicled by Thorstina Jackson in May 1925, “At present there are about 1,000 first and second generation Icelanders in this community.” (9) Despite its fame within the Icelandic community, the Minneota area was quite ethnically diverse with many Belgian and Dutch in addition to Icelanders, Norwegians and Swedes, and known for some of the best farmland to be had anywhere.
![Sign near St. Paul’s (Icelandic) Church in Minneota, Minnesota commemorating the first Icelandic settlement in Minnesota. Photo Credit: Kathryn Rothman [blog post] 11 Jun 2024](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c8da92_0c9db614e723423fbb9d04dd2445c9fb~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_528,h_662,al_c,q_80,enc_avif,quality_auto/c8da92_0c9db614e723423fbb9d04dd2445c9fb~mv2.jpg)
Similar to other Icelandic emigrants, the family did not travel directly to Minneota. They began their journey in Northeast Iceland, emigrating from the port of Vopnafjörður in early 1873 and passing through Glasgow, Scotland, before entering the United States at the port of New York, New York, on September 12, 1873. They then traveled to Wisconsin, first to Washington Island, and later to Iowa County (Dodgeville area), where Gunnlaugur worked for Norwegian emigrants, learning farming and other trades. When his Norwegian neighbors moved on to Minnesota, Gunnlaugur decided to follow them.
Other Icelanders began arriving in Minneota shortly after that; some directly from Iceland, others from Schwano, Milwaukee, and other spots in Wisconsin. Other memorable names in the area include:
The Big Store built by Ólafur Guðjón Arngrímsson (I3445295) AKA O.G. Anderson who emigrated in 1879 at age 19 from the North Múlasýsla in East Iceland. “He built The O.G. Anderson & Co. “…a 1901 two-story brick structure,... the largest department store between Mankato, Minnesota, and Watertown, South Dakota, when it was built. The first floor sold an assortment of dry goods and groceries while the Opera Hall on the second floor was the site of a variety of community events including lectures, plays, basketball games and roller skating, to name a few.” (15)
The Society for the Preservation of Minneota History (SPMH) purchased the building in 1978 and has been involved in restoring and maintaining it ever since. The first floor is now the delightful Minneota Public Library, and the second-floor Opera Hall space is open and available for events.
Thorstina Jackson wrote, “Iceland has no illiterate peasant class; even as far back as the 18th century, ability to read was a necessary qualification in joining the church and becoming an active member of the community.” (9) Perhaps that is one reason Minneota produced a number of writers and publications such as Vinland, thought to be the only Icelandic-language paper in the United States, published from 1902–1908. (21) The editor and publisher was G. B. Björnson (I338313) AKA Gunnar Björnsson who emigrated from North Múlasýsla in 1876 with his mother. G.B. also published the Icelandic-language periodical Kennarinn (“The Teacher”) used in Icelandic Lutheran Sunday schools, as well as The Minneota Mascot which is still published today. He also served as postmaster and Minnesota State Representative from Lyon County.
William Jon (Bill) Holm (I549625) was born on a farm in the Minneota area in 1943, but as an adult frequently visited his home, Brimnes, in Hofsós, Iceland. He was a giant of a man, standing nearly 6’6” tall and produced an abundance of written works. He was a prolific writer of poems, books, essays, and articles, with his work adapted many times for theater, radio, and TV productions and available throughout the world. He held a number of esteemed academic positions and was recognized with many awards. (14; 22)
Roseau
According to Eric Jonasson, the first Icelandic settlers arrived in 1893. (10) Early settlers to this area were usually coming directly from Iceland and often moved on to Canadian settlements. Both Roseau and the Piney settlement (AKA Pine Valley Byggð), located just across the border in Manitoba, shared close ties. Both are on the watershed of the Roseau River, and residents often went back and forth. They also shared the experience of the fall of 1897 forest fire that began in the Roseau area and spread to Piney. Despite the devastation this caused, it also seemed to bring attention to the two settlements, and an influx of Icelanders arrived, mostly from North Dakota. (16)
Metúsalem Vigfússon (I339845) AKA Charles Peterson was born in Northeast Iceland and his wife, Borghildur Sigmundsdóttir Long (I37594) who was originally from East Iceland, arrived in Roseau in 1896 after a circuitous route of stops between there and Iceland. Both lost parents early in life. The couple met and married in North Dakota in 1889. While there, Metúsalem did a number of different types of work, including serving as postmaster. Eleven years later, in 1907, the couple moved to Blaine, and finally, in 1917, to Yakima, Washington, where they remained and are buried. (5)
Per Eric Jonasson: “The following settlements, while by no means insignificant, were of lesser importance than those mentioned previously primarily because the Icelandic people were greatly outnumbered by people of other ethnic groups.” (10)
Duluth
Located at the southern tip of Lake Superior, Duluth was the terminus for the Great Lakes Steamboat Service and eventually a stop on the railroads. Icelanders used the city as a jumping off point to settlements further west and north, though some were just plain tired and chose to stay in the port city, along with many other emigrants, particularly of Scandinavian ancestry. It is interesting to note that the cemetery created in 1881 (the first year Eric Jonasson indicates Icelandic settlement in the town) by the First Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church and containing a number of Icelanders has been recently in the news. The cemetery is located on the shores of Lake Superior, next to the largest mansion in Duluth, known as Glensheen, where a century and a half of strong waves and lake ice damage has caused the cemetery to slowly slide into Lake Superior. St. Louis County is seeking grants from the State of Minnesota to stabilize the area.
Duluth was also a community for Icelanders to move to and from or return to over the years. Kristjan Niels Jónsson/Julius (I18749), AKA K.N. Julius or Káinn was born in 1859 in Akureyri, and is an example of such a transient emigrant. He first settled in Winnipeg in 1878, then Duluth, and finally, in about 1894, settled in Thingvalla Township, North Dakota, where his memorial stands today. He never married but was a beloved poet and humorist, recognized both in Iceland and the Western Icelandic communities alike.
Halldóra Guðmundsdóttir Olson (I2702) emigrated from Snæfellsnessýsla in 1886 with her husband, Siggeir Ólafsson/Olson (I525881) and family. By 1890, the family settled in Duluth where she became a famous midwife, eventually building her own 12-bed hospital in the city. “In an era when home births were still the norm, a 1907 Duluth News Tribune story reported that Olson—'the oldest and most popular midwife at the head of the lakes'—had delivered 1,100 babies, including 'at least 112' in that year alone.” (1) Her great-grandson-in-law, Gordon Krantz wrote, "The story within the family was that Halldora had never lost either a mother or child—which is hard to believe even if she was a remarkable midwife." (12)
“In 1891, William Mayo and Minnesota lawmakers began requiring midwives to register. Olson was among the first Duluth midwives to do so and she became the first to have her maternity hospital win city certification.” (18)
Jóhann Einarsson (I139413) was born in 1853 in Skagafjarðarsýsla in North Iceland and emigrated, along with his wife, Elín Benónýsdóttir (I139953) and family in 1883, first to Walsh County, North Dakota and a year later to Duluth, Minnesota. Jóhann owned a dairy in Duluth for some 18 years and was known as a poet and writer of stories. Their three children attended Duluth schools from elementary through high school, and the two boys went on to study at the University of Minnesota. The eldest, Sturla (I139954), became a distinguished astronomer and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. The younger son, Baldur (I139955), studied agriculture, then moved near Seattle, where he married and ran a dairy farm from 1912 until 1961. Their sister, Nanna (I139956), became a teacher in Duluth until 1918, when she also moved to Seattle, where she continued to teach.
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul
Located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, Minneapolis and St. Paul have long been the economic drivers of the State of Minnesota. They have always had a quite diverse population, with Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Irish, and Jews, some of the larger emigrant ethnicities. As early as 1876, some Icelandic emigrants stayed in The Cities once they reached the area due to opportunities for jobs, but most continued moving west and north to other Icelandic settlement locations. By the early 20th century, jobs and higher educational opportunities drew Western Icelanders back from surrounding Icelandic areas to more agricultural communities.
The Twin Cities boast some 20 colleges and universities (including the main campus of the University of Minnesota). Today, most Western Icelanders in The Cities trace their emigrant ancestors from the Northeast settlements of North Dakota and the Minneota settlement. There is also a growing number of 20th and 21st-century Icelandic emigrants, again due to the higher educational opportunities and presence of many multinational and Fortune 500 companies.
Kristjan “Val” Valdimar (I510617) Bjornson was born in Minneota in 1906. His father, Gunnar Björnsson (I338313), arrived from Iceland in 1876 and his mother, Ingibjörg Ágústína Jónsdóttir/Hordal (I525863), in 1883. Following his graduation from Minneota High School in 1924, Val then graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus in 1930. He is known as a journalist, editor, military person, and Treasurer of the State of Minnesota. While serving during WWII in Iceland, he met and subsequently married his wife, Guðrún Jónsdóttir (I244424) of Ísafjörður, in 1946. He is remembered for his work strengthening the ties between Western Icelanders and Iceland, including creating and funding the Val Bjornson Icelandic Exchange Scholarship in 1982, which has allowed some 100 students to attend either the University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) or the University of Minnesota. (19; 20)
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Resources
1) Byerly-Adams, Becky & Shaune Jonasson. “Halldóra Guðmundsdóttir, First Midwife in Duluth.” Rætur Fréttir/Roots News. 09 May 2026. Retrieved from: https://www.icelandicroots.com/post/halld%C3%B3ra-gu%C3%B0mundsd%C3%B3ttir-first-midwife-in-duluth.
2) Doctor, Jason & Cathy Josephson. They Left for Minnesota. Icelandic Roots. [webinar]. 6 Nov 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIqbpVkOWiA.
3) Furstenau, Sunna. “No Greater Love.” Icelandic Roots. [blog post]. 30 Mar 2018. https://www.icelandicroots.com/post/2018/03/30/no-greater-love
4) Helgason, Hálfdan. The Emigration from Iceland to North America (Weekly Newsletter #13) 14 Jun 2003. Retrieved from: https://www.halfdan.is/news/newsletter_013.htm.
5) Helgason, Hálfdan. The Emigration from Iceland to North America (Weekly Newsletter #37) 18 Apr 2004. Retrieved from: https://www.halfdan.is/news/newsletter_037.htm.
6) Holmquist, June Drenning (ed.). They Chose Minnesota, A Survey of the State’s Ethnic Groups, St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press,1981. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/theychoseminneso0000unse/page/n5/mode/2up : 20 May 2026.
7) Homestead Act, 1862. National Archives. 20 May 1862. Retrieved from: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/homestead-act.
8) Icelandic National League of North America. “Biographies, Halldora Olson,” in Biographies. Retrieved from: https://inlofna.org/biographies/halldora-olson
9) Jackson, Thorstina. “Icelandic Communities in America: Cultural Backgrounds and Early Settlements.” The Journal of Social Forces, v3(4): pp. 680–686, 1925. Acquire from: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/799406
10) Jonasson, Eric. “Icelandic Settlements in North America.” Icelandic Connection, v73(1): p22, 2023. Retrieved from: https://timarit.is/page/8146886#page/n23/mode/2up .
11) Josephson, Cathy, Sails, Rails, Rivers and Trails–The Journey West. Icelandic Roots. [webinar]. 27 Apr 2021. Retrieved from: .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtQMdhKKVvg.
12) Krantz, Gordon. Halldora’s Line: A Genealogical and Biographic Report of Halldora Guðmundsdottir Olson and of her husband, Siggeir Olafsson Olson. [e-document] 2014. Retrieved from: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/c2c3fd_171a783da4244933942402cce85e1f66.pdf : 19 May 2026.
13) Library of Congress, “Immigration and relocation in U.S. History: The Icelanders.” Classroom Materials. Retrieved from: https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/scandinavian/the-icelanders/ .
14) Milkweed Editions. “Bill Holm” in Milkweed. Retrieved from: https://milkweed.org/author/bill-holm.
15) Minneota Public Library. “Society for the Preservation of Minnesota’s Heritage (SPMH)”. [web page]. Retrieved from: https://minneotalibrary.org/about/spmh/ .
16) Thor Group (trans.) “Pine Valley byggð (Pine Valley Settlement)” in Vesturfarar. 01 Jun 2018. Retrieved from: https://vesturfarar.is/byggdir/manitoba/pine-valley-byggd/?lang=en
17) Thor Group (trans.), Minnesota in Vesturfarar 18 Mar 2020. Retrieved from: https://vesturfarar.is/byggdir/minnesota/?lang=en,
18) “Biographies: Halldora Olson” in Icelandic National League of North America [web page]. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://inlofna.org/biographies/halldora-olson .
19) “Val Bjornson Icelandic Exchange Scholarship” in Icelandic Hekla Club. [web page]. (Used with permission of the family) Retrieved from: https://sites.google.com/view/icelandic-hekla-club/val-bj%C3%B6rnson-icelandic-exchange-scholarship.
20) “Valdimar Björnsson” in Vesturfarar. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://vesturfarar.is/uncategorized-is/valdimar-bjornsson/?lang=en
21) “Vinland”. Minnesota Historical Society, Retrieved from: https://www.mnhs.org/newspapers/hub/v%C3%ADnland
22) William (Bill) Holm. in Horvath Funeral Service [obituary]. Feb 2026. Retrieved from: https://www.horvathfuneralservice.com/obituaries/william-holm
