Norwegian Colony

The group of Norwegians had emigrated from Norway due to lack of land and widespread starvation, and had first settled in Santa Barbara in 1885.

The Olsens lost seven of their ten children, while Ole Andersen, George Hansen, and Lars Pedersen all died within a week of each other during a diphtheria epidemic in 1901.

[6] The Norwegian Colony was situated in northeastern Conejo Valley where California Lutheran University and surrounding areas are located today.

The colony stretched from Mount Clef Ridge on the north and nearly to today's Avenida de Los Arboles on the south.

[10] The lack of land and food in the fjords of western Norway forced many Norwegians to emigrate overseas during the late 19th- and early 20th century.

[13] The colony was short-lived: Ole Andersen, George Hansen, and Lars Pedersen all died within a week of one another in 1901, due to a typhoid[14] or diphtheria epidemic.

[13] The Norwegians were farmers who were dependent on hauling their cattle and dry crops such as barley and wheat to Port Hueneme, Simi Valley, and Moorpark.

After George Hansen was badly injured at Potrero Grade, and in bed for a year because of injuries, the colony took the initiative to create their own road to the Santa Rosa Valley.