More than 825,000 Norwegians immigrated to Minnesota between 1825 and 1928. One of the most popular destinations was Otter Tail County. By 1895, Otter Tail had the third largest Norwegian born population in the state, behind Hennepin and Polk counties.

One of the first things Norwegian immigrants felt compelled to do was to organize churches. This was typically done when a traveling minister conducted services in a settler’s cabin. This led to the formation of a congregation and then a church. Once a church was constructed it became the religious, social and cultural heart of a community.

Starting a religious structure in America was bumpy. Once they were free from the old state church in Norway, immigrants soon split into competing factions. Waldemar Ager, editor of a Norwegian language newspaper in Wisconsin, called the splitting into factions “the first enterprise that can be called Norwegian American.”

For example, splits over obscure theological issues caused Immanuel Lutheran Church in Norwegian Grove township to split into North and South Immanuel and then into East North Immanuel and finally West North Immanuel.

Confused? It really boiled down to ordinary Norwegian immigrants not wanting to be told what to do. Whether it was a minister having too much authority or some decree sent down from the synod, immigrants felt they had earned the right to disagree. Former Concordia College professor /Claire Haugen summed up this feeling when he said, “Norwegians believe it’s fine to have a king and queen as long as they don’t think they are better than anyone else.”

Church divisions may have created hard feelings and neighbors may not have gone to church with one another, yet they would still help one another on their farms during the week.