In the late 1800's, Scandinavian immigrants settled along North Shore of Lake Superior, including the Knife River area. Seeking opportunity, and following a fishing tradition that often followed them from their homeland.
Early settlers participated in subsistence farming and logging, but fishing was their primary occupation. Fish marketers in Duluth provided many new immigrants with fishing equipment on credit and were supplied with fish from these early settlers. Families sent reports of this bonanza back to the homeland, attracting more immigrants to the area, and commercial fishing became an established industry.
These Scandinavian immigrant families were hard-working, hardy and knowledgeable of fishing techniques. The immigrants often came directly from coastal fishing villages of Norway, making their knowledge fishing techniques in a similar setting a useful advantage.
Knife River became a fishing settlement popular with immigrants from Scandinavia in the late 1800s.
Scandinavian
fisherman adapted
fishing skills from
their homeland.
