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Finnish Americans

As early as 1,000 years ago, some Finns most likely joined expeditions to explore the New World with Leif Ericson or with other Norwegian Vikings, but Finnish emigration to North America was strongest between 1864 and 1914, as Finns sought fortunes in the new world and built communities along the U.S.-Canadian border. Finland is a Scandinavian nation with a 2007 estimated population of 5.3 million. This entry looks at the history of Finns in the United States and describes the current community.

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Early History

The documented Finnish presence in what would become the United States starts with the “New Sweden” colony at the mouth of the Delaware River in March 1638. Finns were among the first four European nationalities to settle permanently in the current United States, along with the English, the Dutch, and the Swedes. It is estimated that more than half of the approximately 1,000 settlers in the New Sweden colony between 1638 and 1655 were ethnic Finns. The early Finns' contributions included slash-and-burn land clearance, a new way to build log cabins, and skills of living peacefully with Indians. John Morton, one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, was a descendant of the early Finns.

Sailors from Finland were the pioneers of Finnish emigration across the world, and they sometimes decided to stay ashore in New York and other American ports. In 1855, at the time of the Crimean War, a number of Finnish ships sought refuge in American harbors. The California Gold Rush was going on at that time, and a few hundred adventurous Finns joined the gold rush and founded Finnish settlements on the Pacific.

Finns also settled in Alaska working for the Russian government. In Sitka during the 1840s, there were approximately 500 Europeans. A third of these were Lutheran, mostly from Finland. The most successful sealskin trader was Captain Gustave Niebaum. He had left Helsinki as a young sailor. After making a fortune in Alaska, he settled in Napa Valley, California, and founded the Inglenook Winery. (The winery is now owned by Francis Ford Coppola, and wine is produced under the label of Niebaum-Coppola.)

Main Period of Immigration

During the latter part of the 1800s, Finland was almost completely an agrarian society. The land, however, could not support large families. Rumors reaching Finland described the United States as a land with an abundance of fertile land for cultivation. It was also portrayed as a land with many raw materials. What the United States lacked was an adequate workforce.

During the 1870s, “America fever” spread through the west coast of Finland, Southern Ostrobothnia, and became a mass movement during the following decade. The wave was strongest in 1902, when more than 23,000 Finns applied for passports to immigrate to America. The movement continued until the outbreak of World War I. When the U.S. government began to restrict the admission of immigrants during the 1920s, Finnish emigration shifted to Canada and Australia. Between 1864 and 1914, well over 300,000 Finns settled in the United States, and approximately 20,000 settled across the border in Canada.

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