Velkommen til Telemarken!
Thief River Falls and Pennington County boasts a high concentration of Norwegian ancestry. Such evidence of that fact is the names of country churches. Minnesota is known for is Nordic population, especially Norwegians. This is due to timing. The period of mass immigration for Nordic peoples was in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Telemarken stands on land that was ceeded in 1889 - that really is not that long ago! Norwewgians, who were recent arrivals to the United States, were among the peoples that moved to this newly ceeded land and settled. Churches served many functions for religious and social purposes, so it is not surprising that their construction was one of the first priorities for settlers. Folks came each week to the church to gather and interact.
The naming of this church congregation as Telemarken reveals the primary origin of the Norwegians that settled here - those from the Telemark region of Norway. Many headstones in the cemetary here are in Norwegian. Please explore how this Norwegian history ties into the narrative of Pennington County and Minnesota.
Please be respectful of this place. It is special to me (KAskiing), and I wanted to share its peacefulness and scerenity.
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