History Commons^™

The Founding Of Danish America, J. R. Christianson

The Bridge

If I were to address an audience of Norwegian Americans and ask them when Norwegian emigration to America began, many would answer without hesitation, "in 1825." Some would even say, "the fourth of July 1825," which was the date when the sloop, Restaurationen, sailed out of Stavanger harbor with fifty-three emigrants bound for the New World. I know this is true because I have frequently addressed Norwegian-American audiences and have always received this same answer. The voyage of the Restaurationen is well established as the beginning of Norwegian mass emigration to America.