The Scandinavians who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and the American plains to settle in Sanpete County during the 9th Century adapted to American ways but left many imprints of their native cultures that still survive today.

Sanpete County was initially settled by a group of American- and British-born members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were directed to the area by Brigham Young. The group arrived in the valley on November 19, 1849 and settled in the Manti area. One member of the company described their new home as “only a long narrow canyon where not even a jack-rabbit could exist on its desert soil.”

At about the same time, the first Mormon missionaries arrived in Denmark and within a few years converted thousands of Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians to their faith, most of whom immigrated to “Zion” to join the saints.

Upon arriving in Salt Lake City, the Scandinavian saints were directed to various Mormon settlements, such as Brigham City and the Cache Valley, but most eventually ended up in Sanpete.

Although the first Scandinavian settlers, consisting of most Danish immigrants, may have reached the Sanpete Valley as early as 1852 the main influx didn’t begin until 1853 and 1854. Upon arriving, the first group of Scandinavians joined other settlers in present-day Ephraim.

According to June Crane, a member of he Scandinavian Heritage Festival committee, word about the Sanpete Valley being a gathering place got out among Scandinavians arriving in Utah and in time Ephraim became the location with the greatest concentration of Scandinavian newcomers. (By 1870, nearly 95 percent of Ephraim’s population was of Scandinavian descent, although several settlers left Ephraim to establish other communities in the valley as well.)

The early Scandinavian settlers arrived in the valley amidst trouble with the Ute Indians. What began as peaceable relations soon turned adversarial as additional settlers came and more and more livestock disappeared. Stories from early settlers also tell of their attempt to intervene in the slave trading of Indian children to Hispanic traders, intervention that further angered the Ute’s.

Before long, Chief Walker, who initially welcomed Mormon settlers, began waging a war—known as Walker’s War—against the settlements in the Sanpete Valley. To protect themselves from Indian skirmishes, the settlers were forced to build forts, such as the one erected in Ephraim and occupied by Scandinavians during their first few years in the valley.

Besides Indian troubles, settlers faced other challenges as well. While life in the old country had not been easy, their lives had been established. But now Scandinavian settlers had to start anew, clearing land, digging irrigation canals, building roads and bridges, and erecting homes.

While they brought with them few material goods from the old county, they did bring the acquired skills and a propensity for hard work. “They were very fine craftsman and had a lot of skill in raising animals and a variety of crops.” Crane said.

Within a relatively short period of time, they began working the land and planting crops. Eventually, with the development of an irrigation system, farms flourished throughout the valley. Settlers were also proficient ranchers and established large cattle and sheep herds. This Scandinavian natural affinity for farming and ranching is still evident throughout the valley. “One family,” Crane said, “has been six generations farming the same land.”

Besides agricultural improvements, Scandinavians also contributed to the architectural culture in Sanpete. Scandinavian settlers with construction skills helped construct homes and buildings within Sanpete towns, according to a church-directed plan that instructed homes to be clustered together in parceled town lots. This plan not only provided protection and encouraged social interaction but also reinforced ecclesiastical authority.

Scandinavian stone cutters, using oolitic limestone quarried from the hills along the east side of the valley, fashioned bricks and stones to build local homes, schools, and churches.

Photo courtesy Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Remarkable craftsmanship of pioneers is seen in free-standing spiral staircase in the Manti Utah Temple. The staircase rises 76 verticle feet with no center support, making six complete revolutions. It has 151 steps and more than 200 spindle. The temple has two of the spiral staircases. The one on the north circles clockwise and the one on the south circles counterclockwise.

The skill of Scandinavian builders can also be seen in many log-style homes and farm buildings. The Swedish “double-notch” corner timbering style and the Danish parstuga-styles of homes—consisting of a central room with pairs of rooms on each side—contribute to Sanpete’s architectural heritage. Several buildings still standing today are evidence of the skill of European craftsmen, perhaps the most significant example being the Manti Utah Temple.

Of the challenges the new immigrant faced, adjusting to the English language was seemingly the most difficult. Mormon Church leaders insisted that new converts coming from foreign lands “speak English as soon as possible, and adapt tot the manners and customs of the American people.”

Scandinavian children adjusted well, learning
English rather quickly. But adults struggled and often reverted to communicating in their native tongue. Since the Danes were the largest ethnic group, particularly in Ephraim, non-Danish residents often had to learn Danish o communicate with their neighbors.

Realizing that acclimating to the new language would take time, the church made special allowances for Scandinavian church services. As early as 1853, Brigham Young authorized the Scandinavians to hold their own church meeting for “as long as the Scandinavian emigration should continue.”

With Young’s blessing, church meetings in Sanpete consisted, for several years, of an English service held in the mornings and a Danish service held in the afternoon. The Danish services were quite popular and often attracted several English-speaking visitors whose interest had been piqued.

The Danish language, besides adding to Sanpete’s unique culture make-up, also contributed to Scandinavian folklore, giving rise to several humorous stories. One such story tells of two Danish men commenting on the childless state of their neighbor:

“Shingle Pete (a nickname), issn’t it yoost too bad dat poor Sister Nielsen iss unbearable?”

“Oh, now Shimmy Soren (another nickname), you shouldn’t say dat about sveet Sister Nielsen. Du vis dat effery vun luffs her, so unbearable cannot be de right vord. It is better you should say dat she iss inconceivable.”

“Oh no, Brodder Shingle Pete, ve all know dat sister Nielsen cannot haf any little vuns, so her condition is not inconceivable. I believe the right vord ve vant in dis situation is to say dat she iss impregnable.”

Humorous stories also arose from Scandinavians trying to conform to the rigors of the Mormon religion. That’s not to say that Scandinavian members were not god Mormons—most were. But many used humor to deal with the tensions and struggles of their faith.

Scandinavian architecture is reflected in buildings such as the LDS Temple in nearby Manti.

One principle particularly hard for coffee-loving Scandinavian’s to live was the Word of Wisdom. One on occasion a brother stood up in a Mormon church meeting and declared he strictly observed the Word of wisdom and claimed coffee tea, tobacco, and alcohol were only for use by the “Yentiles.” Another brother quickly responded, “Brodders and sisters, vy iss it dat all the good tings shall be for the Yentiles.”

On another occasion a man came before a bishop’s tribunal to be reprimanded for his habitual drinking. At close of the meeting, the man was asked if he anything to say, to which he replied: “Vel, biscop and brodders, you haf all de time asked me how much visky I haf drunk and scolded me for drinkin’ it, but you nefer did ask me how tirsty I vas.”

Another story, with a flair of Danish humor, concerns the prayer uttered by Lead Pencil Peterson for divine help with the valley’s drought. Lead Pencil begins by recounting the hardships that having no rain has caused residents and then says, “Now, Lord, we do vant you to send us rain, but ve vant it to be a yentle rain—a long, yentle rain. Ve do not vant a cloudburst. … And, Lord, ve do not vant a big hailstorm. … Ve vant a nice, yentle rain. And, Lord, we know dat if you vil tink of it, you vil see the reasonableness of vat ve ask, and how it vil be an advantage to bote us and to you. Because if ve do not get the yentle rain dat vil safe de crops, neither vil you get your tithing.”

While the Scandinavian settlers made several distinctive contributions to the culture of Sanpete County, perhaps none was so ingenious as the use of nicknames to distinguish between the many Peterson, Christensen, and Olsen families, and between the several Peters, Lars and Jens.

Because of their ancestry, many immigrants shared the same last name and some even shared identical first names, due to “old country” naming methods. Nicknames, according to Crane, could be based on one’s occupation, such as “Baler: Pete, “Jake-butcher” Jensen, and “Creamery” Rasmussen. One man became known as “Absolutely” Mortensen because absolutely was the first English word he learned to say, Crane said.

Other colorful nicknames included Nora “Cottontail,” False Bottom” Larsen, “Stinkbug” Andersen, and “Peephole” Soren. Crane said more than 200 nicknames given to Scandinavian residents have been documented.

Although in a new country with a new religion that encouraged foreign members to adopt new customs, the Scandinavians were able to retain their cultural distinction. Their farming and building techniques, traditions, folklore, and ancestry are all reminders of the importance Scandinavians playing in determining the cultural heritage of Sanpete County.