James M. Wahl (Given name: Jens Magnus Wahl) (January 7, 1846 - February 9, 1939) was a pioneer

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

settler in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. He served as the first legislator of

Lincoln County, South Dakota Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 65,161, making it the third-most populated county in the state. Its county seat is Canton. The county was named for Abraham Li ...

in the Dakota Territorial Legislature. Wahl named the city of Canton, South Dakota.

Biography

Wahl was born at Storvahl in

Nærøy Nærøy () is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Nærøysund Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. Norway's smallest town, Kolvereid, wa ...

parish,

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was the son of Fredrik Andreas Jenssen (1814-1866) and Johanna Maria Mikkelsdatter (1825-1917). Wahl emigrated to

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

in 1867 from Nord-Trøndelag County,

. He attended West Salem Seminary in

and upon completion moved to

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

. He served as a guide to immigrants coming to

from Norway for many years. He later moved to the Sioux Valley arriving on April 23, 1868, in Canton, South Dakota. He filed for a homestead on the very piece of property on which the county courthouse stands today. Among many contributions to the community, Wahl assisted with the organization of Bethlehem Lutheran church (now Canton Lutheran Church), organized bringing the

Augustana College Augustana College may refer to: *Augustana College (Illinois) *Augustana University Sioux Falls, South Dakota *Augustana University College, Alberta See also *Augustana Divinity School (Neuendettelsau) The Augustana-Hochschule Neuendettelsau is ...

from

Beloit, Iowa Beloit is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Lyon County, Iowa, Lyon County, Iowa, United States. Geography Beloit is located on the banks of the Big Sioux River in northwestern Iowa just across the river from Canton, South Dakota ...

to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and wrote a 277-page record of local settlement. He died in 1939, a citizen of the United States for 73 years. ''James M. Wahl: Earliest Co. Pioneer Dies'' (Sioux Valley News, Sioux Falls South Dakota) February 9, 1939

References

1846 births 1939 deaths People from Nærøy People from Canton, South Dakota Politicians from La Crosse, Wisconsin Members of the Dakota Territorial Legislature 19th-century American legislators Norwegian emigrants to the United States American Lutherans American pioneers Writers from South Dakota {{SouthDakota-politician-stub