Norway in America - WashingtonPost office names in USA and Canada with Norwegian origin.Research by Hallvard Slettebø and Dag Henriksbø. This page was updated 11 November 2022 |
Breidablik, WA |
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Breidablik, small community in Kitsap Co., WA. In Norse mythology, Breidablik (loosely translates to Broad View) is the home of Balder, it is one of the halls of Asgard. The post office opened 1892 with Ole M. Abel postmaster. Closed 1906, superseded by R.D. from Poulsbo. Post offices in Kitsap Co., WA.
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Christopher, WA |
Christopher was a community in King Co., WA. The post office opened 1887 with Thos. Christopher as postmaster (born 1833 in Norway) and named for him. Christopher is located 20 miles south of Seattle within the future city limits of Auburn. The post office closed 1917 with mail to Auburn. NFT 7/2022.
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Everson, WA |
Everson is a city in Whatcom Co., WA. Everson was named for Ever Everson, born 1842 in Norway, he was the first white settler in the area. Everson was officially incorporated in 1929. The Everson, WA post office opened 1891 with Iver B. Moe postmaster, and it is still in operation. The population was 2,481 at the 2010 census.
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Hansville, WA |
Hansville, community in Kitsap Co., WA. The first regular residents of Hansville were the lightkeepers of the Point No Point Light, which was constructed in 1879. The Point-no-Point post office was established 1890 in the lighthouse. In 1893 the Norwegian fisherman Anton Husby, the community's first permanent settler not affiliated with the lighthouse, came to the area. He was soon followed by other Norwegian emigres, including Hans Zachariasen who came in 1899 and for whom Hansville was ultimately named. The post office moved and changed name 1914 to Hansville with Anton Husby as postmaster. It is still in operation. Post offices in Kitsap Co., WA.
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Homevalley, WA / Home Valley, WA |
Home Valley is a community in Skamania Co., WA. The name is a translation of the deity Heimdal from old Norse mythology. The name Heim Dal was applied for, but Homevalley (spelling in one word) was approved when the post office opened 1892 with John Kanikkeberg postmaster (born 1851 at Kannikeberg, Øystese, Hardanger, Norway). It closed 1919 with mail to Carson. In 1922 it was re-established as Home Valley, WA (two words), and closed finally 1959 with mail to Stevenson.
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Lofall, WA |
Lofall is a community in Kitsap Co., WA. The post office was established 1912 and named for postmaster John W. Lofall, who came from Løvfallstrand, Kvinnherad, Norway. Discontinued 1931 with mail to Poulsbo. In 2010, Lofall had a population of 2,289. Post offices in Kitsap Co., WA.
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Nordland, WA |
Nordland, Jefferson Co., WA. The first settlement on Marrowstone Island was founded 1892 by Peter F. Nordby, a Norwegian immigrant. He purchased 187 acres of land from Thomas Hammond, a Port Townsend realtor, and platted the acreage into 10-acre parcels. Nordby called the new town site “Nordland.” Ironically, Peter Nordby never lived on Marrowstone Island, but moved to Seattle, where he founded the Nordby Supply Company, a ship chandlery business. The attraction to the Nordland area was the similarity of the land to the Norwegian fjords, the abundance of fish, and the cannery which once existed two miles north of Nordland. Most of the descendants of the families still live on the island. The Nordland, WA post office opened 1898 with Carl Norman as postmaster, and it is still in operation. The population was 831 in 2019.
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Poulsbo, WA |
Poulsbo is a fishing city in Kitsap Co., WA. Founded by Norwegian immigrant Jorgen Eliason in 1883 and settled by a large number of Norwegian and other Scandinavian immigrants because of its similarities to their native countries. In 1886, Iver Brynildsen Moe, one of the early Norwegian settlers, suggested that the town and post office should be named Paulsbo after the Norwegian village where Moe spent his early years (Paulsbo near Halden, Norway). The Poulsbo, WA post office opened 1886 with Iver B. Moe as postmaster, and it is still in operation. The population was 9,200 at the 2010 census. Post offices in Kitsap Co., WA.
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Scandia, WA |
Scandia, post office in Kitsap Co., WA, established 1915 with Carl Emil Frykholm as postmaster. The name is either short for Scandinavia, or it is derived from Skåne, Sweden. Closed 1917 with mail to Pearson. Post offices in Kitsap Co., WA.
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Vik, WA |
Vik, a small community in Wahkiakum Co., WA. It was named for Vik in Helgeland, Norway. The post office was established 1906 with Carrie (Karen) Bjorge as postmaster, the wife of Ole Adolf Waldemar Bjørge Rønning, originally from Ølsås, Vik in Helgeland. The post office closed 1909.
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Vinland, WA |
Vinland, community in Kitsap Co., WA. Located by the Hood Canal and named for the early Norse settlement of Vinland. The post office was established 1892 with Ole O. Frostley postmaster. Discontinued 1900 with mail to Bangor. Re-established 1902 with Halvor Svenson postmster. Closed 1906, superseded by R.D. from Poulsbo. Post offices in Kitsap Co., WA.
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Vinland & Holly, WA R.P.O. |
Vinland Wharf & Holly, WA, steamboat on Hood Canal, on the 25 miles line between Vinland Wharf and Holly, Kitsap Co., WA. Operated by Hansen Trans. Co. 1918-1924. Hood Canal is a fjord and not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway. The Holly and Vinland Wharf, WA R.P.O. was redesignated the Vinland Wharf and Holly, WA R.P.O. in 1922. See Vinland, WA for the origin of the Vinland name.
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Not confirmed: Nisson, WA |
Nisson, Grays Harbor Co., WA. 1912-1917. Chehalis County to 1915. An adaption of Nilson, the name of an early-day logger in the area. Postmaster Emil J. Bloechlinger (from Switzerland).
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