Norway is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Mission Township,
LaSalle County,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. Located along the
Fox River, the community was the site of an early
Norwegian-American
Norwegian Americans () 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 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...
settlement. Today it is the site of the State of Illinois
Norwegian Settlers Memorial.
History
Norway received its name from the nearby rural community of settlers from
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
in the area known as the
Fox River Settlement. The village was the center of Norwegian immigration dating to 1834. The settlers had in large part relocated from the
Kendall Settlement in
New York State
New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
which had been founded earlier by pioneers who arrived from Norway during 1825 aboard the ''
Restauration''.
Norwegian-American
Norwegian Americans () 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 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...
pioneer leader
Cleng Peerson
Cleng Peerson (17 May 1783 – 16 December 1865) was a Norwegian emigrant to the United States; his voyage in 1824 was the precursor for the boat load of 52 Norwegian emigrants in the following year. That boat load was a precursor for the main wav ...
founded this second settlement in the
Fox River Valley of Illinois.
Norway does not have a local government, fire district, school district, local policing or postal services. Most local government services are provided by the nearby community of
Sheridan. Postal addresses are designated as either being in Sheridan or
Serena both of which are no more than six miles away.
Heritage
Norway and the neighboring community of
Newark represent the predominating
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n heritage of the far northeast corner of
LaSalle County, part of
Kendall County, and far southeast corner of
DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb:
* DeKalb County, Alabama
DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...
. Norway was also an early site of missionary work by
Mormons
Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...
, which laid the groundwork for later Mormon missions in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
.
Just south of Norway, there is a memorial dedicated to Norwegian immigrants who settled in the area, with a small park, a cemetery, and a plaque from
King Olav V
Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991.
Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wa ...
. This memorial commemorates the Fox River Settlement, the site of the first permanent Norwegian-American immigrant settlement in the Midwest.
Norsk Museum is located 9 miles northeast of
Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...
on highway 71. The museum is located in a former Norwegian Lutheran Church which served as a house of worship from 1848 until 1918. Norsk Museum is dedicated to the Scandinavian settlers who founded the area around Norway, Illinois in the 1800s.
Norway is deeply connected to its past, as most evidently shown at the Norway Store. The store has sat on the same spot for over a century, and the Borchsenius family, which started the store, still continues to own the store, as well as a nursery and a few other pieces of land in the immediate area.
See also
*
List of unincorporated communities in Illinois
References
External links
Norsk Museum
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Illinois
Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area
Norwegian-American culture in Illinois
Unincorporated communities in LaSalle County, Illinois
Populated places established in 1834
1834 establishments in Illinois