The settlers had in large part relocated from the Kendall Settlement in New York State which had been founded earlier by pioneers who arrived from Norway during 1825 aboard the Restauration.

Norwegian-American pioneer leader Cleng Peerson founded this second settlement in the Fox River Valley of Illinois.

[7] Just south of Norway, there is a memorial dedicated to Norwegian immigrants who settled in the area, with a small park, a cemetery, and a plaque from King Olav V. This memorial commemorates the Fox River Settlement, the site of the first permanent Norwegian-American immigrant settlement in the Midwest.

[8] Norsk Museum is located 9 miles northeast of Ottawa, Illinois on highway 71.

Norsk Museum is dedicated to the Scandinavian settlers who founded the area around Norway, Illinois in the 1800s.