Westby History by Elaine Bakken

This following history of Westby was written my Miss. Elaine Bakken, who studied this Vernon County community as a high school English project. Her story appeared in the La Crosse Tribune on Tuesday, June 24, 1958. A few amendments have been made.

State and Main streets about 1900
Martin Bekkedal, white hat, looking towards Ole Westby's first general store
that in only a few months Bekkedal would start construction of Bekkedal/Ramsland building.
The hardware store in the background was Ole Westby's second store.

The territory where the town of Christiana and the city of Westby are now located was first occupied by Winnebago Indians. In 1848 the first Norwegian settlers came; among them were Evan Gullord, Hans Olson Libakken, Hans Neprud, Ole Gullord and Martin Paulhaugen. Each one took a claim of land. By 1850 numerous settlers also had arrived on Coon Prairie.

In 1851 this area was called Crawford County and was served by the Springville Post Office. A short time later Crawford County was divided and this area was called Bad Ax County, with Coon Prairie as the local Post Office. Shortly Bad Ax was changed to Vernon County.

In 1858 Hans Ramsrud built a house that today has become Westby’s oldest house. Ramsrud had a blacksmith on the corner of State and Main, the location of Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts in 2015. Also on this corner were two houses when Ole Westby built his general store in 1864 at the location of Organic Valley. The first building that Ole Westby erected was used as a mercantile business and his second building, across the street from his first was built in 1874 and was used as a mercantile business as well as a hotel on second floor. A few years later it was used as the first school for Westby children. Mrs. Ole Westby was the former Sarah Dahl and was kept quite busy waiting on customers and looking after the hotel. In 1879 the Chicago, Milwaukee and St Paul Railroad completed its branch line from Sparta to Viroqua. The name Westby Station was given to this railway station by the railroad to honor Ole Westby.

The railroad brought with it a boom to Westby. Three stores, two grain warehouses, one hotel and several dwellings were erected within a short time. The only excitement in those days was when the stage came through from Sparta to Viroqua, with passengers and mail. The stage went south one day and north the next. Quite often newcomers from Norway who stopped off here were happy to find people who could speak Norwegian.

Dr. J. Walloe was the pioneer doctor of Coon Prairie, but the first doctor who settled at Westby was Dr. J.K. Schreiner. He was followed a short time later by Dr. J. Schee.

Among the early settlers were two pioneers by the same name. They were Hans (Bakken) Syverson and Hans (Skaara) Syverson. Their mail kept getting mixed up so Hans (Skaara) changed his last name to Bakken. Hans Syverson and Hans Bakken were among the first in this area to raise tobacco, and Hans Bakken soon was called “Tobak Hans” by his friends.

M.H. Bekkedal put up his first crop of tobacco in 1892. During the daytime he helped out in the Ballsrud store owned by Christian Hansen Ballsrud located at the current location of Borgen’s Restaurant. After working hours in the store, Bekkedal would pack tobacco in wooden grocery boxes of every shape and size. Later he rented the butcher shop, which was a frame building, later the site of the Westby Theatre. He bought more tobacco and soon he needed more room and some help so he hired Ole Johnson and Andrew Nottestad. This was the beginning of an industry which prospered and grew in Westby.