 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Sweden–Norway | |
| Name | Restauration |
| Laid down | Hardanger |
| Launched | 1801 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Sloop |
| Tonnage | 39 tons |
| Length | 54 ft (16 m) |
| Beam | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
Restauration was a sloop built in 1801, in Hardanger, Norway. It became a symbol of Norwegian American immigration. Historical sources may contain several variations on the name of the sloop, including Restauration, Restoration, Restaurasjonen, and Restorasjon. [1]
On what is considered the first organized emigration from Norway to the United States, Restauration set sail from Stavanger on July 4, 1825, with 52 people aboard, many of them Norwegian Quakers. Probably many of this group belonged to a similar local movement, the Haugeans, a Lutheran sect which derived its name from Hans Nielsen Hauge. The group, led by Cleng Peerson, landed in New York City on October 9, 1825, after a three-month voyage. [2] The voyage is described in Ole Rynning's Amerika-boka (The America Book, 1838). [3] [4]
For a vessel of her size Restauration had far more passengers on board than were allowed by American law. This resulted in a severe fine, confiscation of the ship and the arrest of the captain, L. O. Helland. The situation was solved when President John Quincy Adams pardoned the captain on 15 November, released him and the ship, and rescinded the fine. The people who made this voyage, who are sometimes referred to as the "Sloopers," moved onward to their first settlement in Kendall, Orleans County, New York. [5] [6]
The Norse-American Centennial was held in Minnesota on June 7–9, 1925, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Restauration in New York City. The United States Post Office also issued two stamps to commemorate the 1825 arrival. The 2-cent stamp has for its central design a ship representing Restauration. The illustration on the two cent stamp is an artist's rendition of what Restauration probably looked like based on a drawing of its sister ship.
The 5-cent stamp has for its central design a Viking ship. This design is from a photograph of Viking which sailed from Norway to Chicago for the Columbian Exposition of 1893. The design on the 5-cent stamp was from a photograph of an exact size replica of Viking. A flag of the United States is seen waving from the bow of the ship. That ship was a replica of the Gokstad ship on display in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.
In 1975, in honor of the sesquicentennial of the arrival of Restauration, Cleng Peerson was depicted on a Norwegian NOK 1.40 postage stamp. The date of Leif Erikson Day in the United States was chosen to coincide with the day Restauration arrived in New York Harbor: October 9. [7]
In preparation for the 2025 Bicentennial of the ship's voyage, a replica of the Restauration was built at Jørn Flesjå's small wooden shipyard at Finnøy in Ryfylke, Norway. [8] The replica was launched in 2010 and is now used for education and charter excursions in Rogaland. [ citation needed ]. It will be sailed from Stavanger on July 4, 2025 and planned to arrive in New York Harbor on October 9, 2025. [9] Also in October 2025, Mindekirken in Minneapolis will dedicate a model church ship of the Restauration to hang in the sanctuary. [10]
Erik Thorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair and beard. According to Icelandic sagas, Erik was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson; to which Thorvald would later be banished from Norway, and would sail west to Iceland with Erik and his family. During Erik's life in Iceland, he married Þjódhild Jorundsdottir and would have four children, with one of Erik's sons being the well-known Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson. Around the year of 982, Erik was exiled from Iceland for three years, during which time he explored Greenland, eventually culminating in his founding of the first successful European settlement on the island. Erik would later die there around 1003 CE during a winter epidemic.
Bjarni Herjólfsson was a Norse-Icelandic explorer who is believed to be the first known European discoverer of the mainland of the Americas, which he sighted in 986.
Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky, was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According to the sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, which is usually interpreted as being coastal North America. There is ongoing speculation that the settlement made by Leif and his crew corresponds to the remains of a Norse settlement found in Newfoundland, Canada, called L'Anse aux Meadows, which was occupied approximately 1,000 years ago.
Rogaland ( ) is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Stavanger, which is one of the largest cities in Norway.
Norwegian Americans are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans, according to the 2021 U.S. census; most live in the Upper Midwest and on the West Coast of the United States.
Cleng Peerson was a Norwegian emigrant to the United States; his voyage in 1824 was the precursor for the boat load of 52 Norwegian emigrants in the following year. That boat load was a precursor for the main wave of Norwegian immigration to the United States.
Leif Erikson Day is an annual observance that occurs on October 9. It honors Leif Erikson, the Norse explorer who, in approximately 1000, led the first Europeans believed to have set foot on the continent of North America.
Rasmus Bjørn Anderson was an American author, professor, editor, businessman and diplomat. He brought to popular attention the fact that Viking explorers were the first Europeans to arrive in the New World and was the originator of Leif Erikson Day.
Viking is a Viking ship replica. It is an exact replica of the Gokstad ship recovered from Gokstadhaugen, a Viking Era burial mound in Sandefjord, Norway in 1880. Viking was featured at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893.
Norwegian Canadians refer to Canadian citizens who identify themselves as being of full or partial Norwegian ancestry, or people who emigrated from Norway and reside in Canada.
Viking ship replicas are one of the more common types of ship replica. Viking, the very first Viking ship replica, was built by the Rødsverven shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. In 1893 it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Chicago in the United States for the World's Columbian Exposition. Formerly located in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, the Viking is currently undergoing conservation in Geneva, Illinois, United States.
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church of Minneapolis, better known as Mindekirken, is a Lutheran church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is one of two American churches still using Norwegian as a primary liturgical language, the other being Minnekirken in Chicago. King Harald V of Norway is the church's patron.
Alfred Hauge was a Norwegian educator, journalist, novelist, poet and historian. He wrote extensively about life on the Ryfylke islands and about Norwegian-American emigration.
The Norse-American Centennial celebration was held at the Minnesota State Fair on June 6–9, 1925.
The Norwegian Settlers Memorial is the official memorial of the U.S. state of Illinois maintained in honor of immigrants from the nation of Norway. This Memorial commemorates the Fox River Settlement, the site of the first permanent Norwegian-American immigrant settlement in the Midwest. The Memorial is situated just south of the community of Norway in LaSalle County, Illinois. It is located by the roadside of Illinois Route 71, 9 miles (14.5 km) northeast of Exit 93 on Interstate 80.
Leif Erikson is a Viking ship replica built to commemorate the voyage of Leif Erikson who is credited with reaching North America over one thousand years ago.
The Norse-American medal was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1925, pursuant to an act of the United States Congress. It was issued for the 100th anniversary of the voyage of the ship Restauration, bringing early Norwegian immigrants to the United States.
Ole Rynning was a Norwegian emigrant pioneer and author.
The Leif Erikson statue is a monumental statue honoring Leif Erikson in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Located in the city's Humboldt Park, the statue was designed by Sigvald Asbjørnsen and erected in 1901.
Leiv Eirikson Discovering America is a painting by Christian Krohg. It depicts the explorer Leif Erikson at the moment he discovers American land, as described in the sagas of Icelanders. The painting was made for the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and was exhibited along with the Viking ship replica Viking. It is in the collection of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo. A copy of the painting, created by Krohg's son, Per Krohg, has hung in the United States Capitol since 1936.
