New Norway is a hamlet 22 km southwest of Camrose. It is home to more than 280 people, and has an elementary and secondary school, local fire protection and municipal services provided by Camrose County.
Its history started in 1881, north of where New Norway would be, a small mission was established by building a Catholic Church of St. Thomas that still stands to this day and is an iconic part of the rural landscape. The first settlers to come to the New Norway area were brothers Ludwig, Lars, Evan and Ole Olstad, who immigrated from Norway. The land they would select was along the Battle River, which would be called Gould’s Crossing. As they settled there, the area became known as Olstad Settlement.
In 1892, the railway was constructed through the area, and more families, who originally came from Norway, started to settle in greater numbers. With so many new settlers, the settlement changed its name to New Norway in 1895. It wasn’t just Norwegian settlers in the area, but also Swedish and German settlers as well. One settler who arrived in 1893 was Gullik Iverson, who built a log home using dove tail corner joints, a technique Norwegians brought to Canada. This building still stands and is known as Iverson Farmstead and is one of the few remaining Norwegian log houses in Alberta from this time of settlement. In 1993, the entire homestead, including the log house and other structures, became a Registered Historic Resource. By 1903, the community had a blacksmith shop and general store. Nearby, Verdun School was built, which stands until now and is a Registered Historic Resource too. Six years later in 1909, the Grand Trunk Pacific railway was built nearby and the entire community picked up and moved to be along the railroad.
On Oct. 14, 1909, the townsite of New Norway went up for sale with 14 businesses being established in the first month. On May 6, 1910, New Norway was incorporated as a village. By 1912, the community had 150 people. By the 1950s, the area of New Norway was booming thanks to a large amount of natural gas found in the area. Over a century later, the Village of New Norway was dissolved to hamlet status under the jurisdiction of Camrose County effective November 1, 2012. ~ Source
If you are a resident of New Norway, or within 10 KM of the hamlet, please join our Residents of New Norway Group.
