Editing Decorah, Iowa (section)

==History==
Decorah was the site of a [[Ho-Chunk]] village beginning ''circa'' 1840. Several Ho-Chunks had settled along the [[Upper Iowa River]] that year when the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] forced them to remove from [[Wisconsin]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Whittaker|first1=William E.|title=An Analysis of Historic-Era Indian Locations in Iowa|journal=Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology|date=10 March 2016|volume=41|issue=2|pages=159–185|doi=10.1080/01461109.2016.1156799|s2cid=163755581}}</ref> In 1848, the United States removed the Ho-Chunks again to a new reservation in Minnesota, opening their Iowa villages to white settlers.
[[File:Waa-kaun-see-kaa.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Chief [[Waukon Decorah]] in 1825]]
[[Image:Decorah Iowa panoramic view.JPG|thumb|350px|center|Panoramic view of Decorah, 1908]]

The first European-Americans to settle were the Day family from [[Tazewell County, Virginia]]. According to local [[Congregational church|Congregationalist]] minister Rev. Ephraim Adams, the Days arrived in June 1849 with the Ho-Chunks' "tents still standing—with the graves of the dead scattered about where now run our streets and stand our dwellings."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sparks|first1=Charles H.|title=History of Winneshiek County, with Biographical Sketches of its Eminent Men|date=1877|publisher=Jas. Alex. Leonard|location=Decorah, Ia|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofwinnesh01spar/page/87 87]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofwinnesh01spar}}</ref> Judge Eliphalet Price suggested that the Days name their new settlement ''Decorah'' after Ho-Chunk leader [[Waukon Decorah]], who was a U.S. ally during the [[Black Hawk War]] of 1832.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Alexander|first1=W.E.|title=History of Winneshiek and Allamakee Counties Iowa|date=1882|publisher=Western Publishing Co|location=Sioux City, Ia.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofwinnesh00alex/page/141 141]–142, 269|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofwinnesh00alex}}</ref>
[[File:Dunnings spring Decorah Iowa.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|Dunning's spring, 2018]]
During the 1850s and 1860s, Decorah grew quickly as settlers built dams and mills to harness water power at Dunning's Spring and other local streams.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Faldet|first1=David S.|title=Oneota Flow: the Upper Iowa River and its people|date=2009|publisher=University of Iowa Press|location=Iowa City|isbn=9781587298363|pages=104–105}}</ref> In 1851, the town became the county seat of Winneshiek County. Decorah also became the site of a [[United States General Land Office]] from 1855 to 1856, making it a destination for immigrants seeking [[land patent]]s in northern Iowa.

Since 1861, it has been the home of [[Luther College (Iowa)|Luther College]], a liberal arts institution affiliated with the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]].

The [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad]] opened a branch to [[Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Combination Depot|Decorah]] in 1869.<ref>Alexander (1882), pp. 190-191, 249, 271-272.</ref>

[[File:Vesterheim2006.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum]]
Decorah has become a center for [[Norwegian-American]] culture originating from a high number of Norwegian settlements beginning in the 1850s. Each July, Decorah is the host of [[Nordic Fest]], a celebration of Norwegian culture with ethnic dancing, food, and music. Decorah is also the home of the [[Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum]], the largest museum in the country devoted to a single immigrant group.<ref name=":1" /> Until 1972, one of the largest Norwegian language newspapers in the nation was published in Decorah, the ''[[Decorah Posten]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Humanities |first=National Endowment for the |title=Decorah-posten. [volume] |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024501/ |access-date=2024-11-05}}</ref>