Norwegian Heritage in Story
County and Central Iowa

One of the original goals of this site was to gather information for The Central Iowa Norwegian Project. That project is now finished with five published works documenting the early Norwegian families in central Iowa. Since the major original purpose has been fulfilled, this site is no longer acquiring or publishing information on the subject. Visitors are encouraged to consult Arlen Twedt's published works.

Local historian, Arlen Twedt, publishes his fifth and
final book about Norwegian immigrant settlement in central Iowa

Norwegian immigrants founded a settlement southwest of Cambridge in 1855 and a second colony east of Story City in 1856. By 1870, central Iowa was the third most popular settlement area for Norwegian immigrants in Iowa. In Norwegian Settlement in the United States, Carlton C. Qualey states, “When the settlers arrived in the lands on June 7, 1855, they found themselves in central Iowa, in Story County, where they launched one of the largest Norwegian settlements in Iowa and one of the more famous in America.”

Volume 1 of The Central Iowa Norwegians published in 2017 covers the settlement period from 1855 to 1880. It traces emigrants' migration from hillside farms along fjords in southwest Norway to the prairie of northern Illinois and westward to Iowa. Twedt describes what early frontier life was like for 97 families living in log cabins and dugouts on the virgin prairie of Story, northern Polk, and southern Hamilton Counties in 1860. He also follows the experiences of 46 central Iowa Norwegians who volunteered for the Civil War. This volume also includes important early histories of The Central Iowa Norwegians by other authors.

Volume 2 of The Central Iowa Norwegians published in 2018 contains biographical profiles of the families who lived in central Iowa during the first five and one-half years of settlement, 646 Norwegians who moved to or were born in central Iowa before 1861. It also contains memoirs and biographies describing pioneer life in central Iowa plus Twedt’s essay describing the pioneers’ interactions with Indians from the Meskwaki Settlement near Tama, Iowa, who hunted and trapped alongside the Upper South Skunk River into the early 20th century.

Volume 3 of The Central Iowa Norwegians published in 2020 begins with a description of how farming changed when modern agricultural machinery became available after the Civil War and how rural life changed when additional rail lines entered central Iowa in the early 1880s. Twedt also explores topics like religion and church life, educating the next generation, amusement and culture, seeking political influence, and becoming a mother settlement. This volume also includes important histories of The Central Iowa Norwegians by other authors.

In 1905, an estimated 12,000 Norwegians were living in central Iowa, and it was time to celebrate. Cambridge and Story City held festive 50th anniversary celebrations. Today, descendants of Norwegians who immigrated to central Iowa before and after 1905 are still celebrating their central Iowa Norwegian heritage at church and community anniversary celebrations and at family reunions.

Twedt published The Honorables Nelson and Roe in 2024. This book contains biographies of central Iowa’s most prominent Norwegian polititians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, The Honorable Oley Nelson from Slater and The Honorable Ole O. Roe from Story City. Nelson served as Story County’s representative in the Iowa Legislature 1886–1889, ran as a candidate for the Iowa Senate in 1899, and was elected sergeant-at-arms in the Iowa House of Representatives 1923–1937. Roe was Story County’s Superintendent of Schools 1882–1891, Deputy Auditor of Iowa 1893–1899, Chief Clerk of Iowa’s insurance department 1902–1908, and Iowa’s first state fire marshal 1911–1919.

Twedt published a capstone book for his history project in 2025, The Central Iowa Norwegian Project: Preserving Central Iowa’s Norwegian Heritage. This book contains additional important historical pieces not included in his three-volume history, scripts for some of his historical talks, and information about his history project to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Central Iowa Norwegian Project.

Arlen Twedt is a descendant of two families who helped found the settlement east of Story City in 1856. He grew up on a farm south of Roland, Iowa, and began learning about the history of The Central Iowa Norwegians in 1977 when he started researching his family’s history.

Twedt’s books are available on Amazon.com.