Modeled after Scandinavian folk museums that mirror the work and customs,
successes and setbacks of ordinary people, the Vesterheim Norwegian-American
Museum showcases the lives of hardy immigrants who settled along the Upper
Iowa River in this state’s rich, rolling, northeastern farmlands.
Rooted in nearby Luther College, a small liberal arts school founded in
1861 by these immigrants, the museum’s original collection included a meager
number of objects assembled as early as 1875. As time went by, emphasis
shifted from miscellaneous general study items to materials specifically
related to Norwegian culture, due largely to the efforts of Knut Gjerset, a
history professor at the college.
Today, with more than 23,000 objects and 16 historic buildings, Vesterheim
is the largest, most comprehensive museum in the United States dedicated to a
single immigrant group.
It includes the four-story main building (once an elegant hotel),
Vesterheim Center (once a factory), the Dayton House Norwegian Cafe building
(once the Silas Dayton drygoods store) and the Amdal-Odland Heritage Center
(also a former drygoods store).
The 12-building Open-Air Division includes a restored stone mill, a log
schoolhouse, a church, a blacksmith shop, a 19th Century farmhouse and drying
sheds.
The museum complex occupies most of a square block in downtown Decorah. In
addition, Vesterheim owns the Jacobson Farmstead and Washington Prairie
Church, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places and located
about seven miles southeast of town, and the Vesterheim Genealogical Center
and Naeseth Library in Madison, Wis.
The folk museum concept, which originated in 19th Century Scandinavia,
recognized the importance of outdoor environments. In keeping with this,
Vesterheim’s acquisition of large objects began in the 1890s. One of the first
pieces obtained was a wagon with log wheels from Dane County, Wis.
Fashioned by Lars Davidson Reque in the 1840s, it is typical of those built
by cash-strapped immigrants in need of a land-worthy means of transportation.
Reque used his kubberulle as a wedding carriage when he and his finance
journeyed 14 miles over unpaved, rutted roads seeking a justice of the peace.
Another is the 14-by-16-foot log house with loft built by carpenter Erik P.
Egge, which sheltered his family of six plus Rev. U.V. Koren and his new bride
during the winter of 1853. The house was moved to the museum’s central site in
1913, initiating the Open-Air Division (open May 1 through Oct. 31).
Items on display represent life and culture in Norway at the time of
emigration and as it unfolded for the New World settlers. The bulk of the
artifacts is from a huge assortment put together in Eau Claire, Wis., by
Norwegian-American P.D. Peterson plus those originally obtained from private
owners and Norwegian museums for the 1925 Norse Centennial Exhibition held in
St. Paul, Minn.
The museum is a tribute to the ingenuity and artistic ability of these
early settlers.
Here, visitors will find scores of beautiful household objects, including
chairs made from a single block of wood and carved with the popular acanthus
tendril motif; mangle boards for smoothing cloth (which were standard
betrothal gifts); communal drinking vessels featuring the horse (a highly
respected animal associated with supernatural powers in pagan Scandinavia);
and trunks and other containers decorated with rosemaling (the last important
folk art to develop in Norway).
In the Great Room of the Amdal-Odland Heritage Center, a colorful mural by
Sigmund Aarseth and Sallie Haugen DeReus depicts the four seasons of a 19th
Century year in Norway, with country people and folklore characters working in
concert or at odds.
Nor has food been forgotten. In summer, the Dayton House Norwegian Cafe
serves lapskaus, lefse, rommegrot and a variety of other traditional entrees
and desserts.
In addition to preserving patterns of the past, Vesterheim (“Western Home”)
is dedicated to fostering folk art traditions via its Handwork School, which
opened in the late ’60s. The 2000 schedule includes more than 25 beginning to
advanced classes in woodworking, rosemaling, jewelry making, knife making and
fiber arts.
———-
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum is open year round except for major
holidays, though the Outdoor Division is open only from May 1 through Oct. 31.
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 1-April 30; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 1-Oct. 31. Admission:
$4 ($5, May 1-Oct. 31, which includes tour of Outdoor Division), $2 ages 7-18
($3, May 1-Oct. 31). Accessibility: Handicap accessible, wheelchair available
on site. Miles from downtown Chicago: 290. Address: 502 W. Water St., Decorah,
Iowa. Phone: 319-382-9681. E-mail: vesterheim@vesterheim.org. Web:
www.vesterheim.org.
