Norskedalen Corncrib

First Building to Norskedalen: Syttende Mai 1982

By RuthAnn N. Wilson 

The Syttende Mai parade of 1982 marked the date of the first building to be moved to Norskedalen. As Westby prepared to celebrate their 14th Syttende Mai in May, local Norwegians were figuring out a way to save some money for Norskedalen.  

Lawrence Bakke at Norskedalen

in front of his former Corncrib

The dream for Norskedalen began in 1977 when local families from Westby and Coon Valley, along with some folks from the La Crosse area, envisioned a nature and heritage center to recognize and preserve the history of our Norwegian ancestors who began to arrive here in 1848. Owen and Dorothy Bekkum donated funds for the restoration of local log buildings to be placed in a model homestead at Norskedalen in 1982.   

Among the early settlers was Peder Oleson Hjelstuen, who came to Westby in 1857 to join his uncle and cousin Johannes and Chris Berg, who settled on East Ridge in 1853. Peder staked out his claim, worked his land and lived in his cabin until 1864, when he finally went to Viroqua to register his deed. He immediately left to enlist in the Civil War, but unfortunately died while still at Camp Reno in Milwaukee. His parents were notified of his death, and of their inheritance of a quarter section of land near Westby.   

Peder’s parents, Ole and Anne, left everything in Norway and come with their remaining children to live on Peder’s land. One of the first things Ole built was a corn crib, building it just the way he had been taught by his father in Norway. This particular corn crib is unique in that Ole used a special Norwegian construction technique called notching. A corncrib is built with spaces between the logs and without chinking to allow ventilation in drying the corn on the cob. Log corncribs of this type are one of the rarest types of structures to be found in Wisconsin. It was completed before his 1870 crop was harvested.   

This corn crib was selected to be the first building moved to the new Norskedalen homestead. To avoid paying fees for moving a building in Vernon County, those clever Norwegians made a plan. They loaded the corn crib onto a float wagon, entered the corn crib as a float in the Syttende Mai Parade, hung flags on the corners of the little building, and drove right through Westby in the parade. Spectators applauded as the float continued straight out to the Norskedalen homestead, where the corn crib is on display to this day.