The Development of an Ethnic Colony: Stoughton, Wisconsin 1850–1920

Abstract:During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many migrants who originated in Europe chose to settle relatively close to members of their own ethnic group after their arrival in the United States. This created settlements that were densely populated by members of specific ethnic groups. In this study, these forms of communities are understood as “ethnic colonies.” The article particularly looks at Stoughton, Wisconsin, which especially attracted migrants who originated in Norway. The purpose of the study has, however, not merely been to observe the existence of an ethnic colony. The colony’s construction and further development has also been a point of interest. This has been studied through an investigation of demographic shifts on a local level, and a closer look at the ethnic group’s cultural influence on the local community. The study finds that a persistent influx of migrants who originated in Norway was an important precondition for the creation of an ethnic colony, and that the colony’s further development is tied to the forming of an ethnic group identity. Actors who influenced the development of an ethnic group identity have thus also been regarded to be important in the construction and further development of the ethnic colony.