How a Swedish immigrant convinced millions that Vikings lived in Minnesota

The Kensington Runestone

In 1898, Swedish farmer Olof Öhman claimed he found a carved stone tablet under a tree on his Minnesota farm.

The stone bore runic inscriptions telling of Vikings who reached America in 1362, centuries before Columbus. Scholars quickly called it a fake, but the debate raged for decades.

Here’s the complete story, plus how you can visit the runestone at the Kensington museum today.

Ohman’s Initial Discovery Claim

Olof Ohman found the stone while removing trees on his farm. His 10-year-old son Edward first noticed unusual markings on the rock after they pulled it from the ground.

Ohman told people he thought the symbols might be an “Indian almanac” – a record kept by Native Americans. The exact date of discovery remains unclear.

Some reports say he found it in August 1898, while others list November 8, 1898. This time gap later raised questions about the story.

The Stone’s Physical Characteristics

The Kensington Runestone is made of greywacke, a type of sandstone. Nine lines of strange writing cover its face, with three more lines along one edge.

The writing combines runes with Latin letters. Runes were ancient symbols used by northern Europeans before modern letters.

The inscription claims to be from 1362, supposedly left by Scandinavian explorers who reached Minnesota more than a century before Columbus arrived in America. This bold claim made the stone instantly famous.

First Public Announcement of the Discovery

J.P. Hedberg, Kensington’s mayor, first shared news about the stone months after Ohman found it. On January 1, 1899, Hedberg sent a copy of the strange writing to a Swedish-American newspaper.

The Minneapolis Journal printed the first English translation on February 24, 1899. This article introduced the stone’s message to the public.

Four months passed between the discovery and these first reports. Critics later found this delay suspicious for such an important find.

The Inscription’s Purported Message

The stone tells a dramatic story about Scandinavian explorers in Minnesota. The translated message states: “8 Goths [Swedes] and 22 Norwegians on an exploration journey from Vinland” traveled through the region.

It describes the group camping by a lake with two small islands nearby. The story turns dark when it claims they “found 10 of our men red with blood and dead.”

The message ends with “AVM” (short for “Ave Maria,” a prayer) and the year 1362, placing these Norse explorers in America long before Columbus.

Initial Academic Reactions

Scholars quickly rejected the stone as fake. University of Minnesota professor Olaus J. Breda declared it a forgery after studying the writing.

Northwestern University experts dismissed it as a prank. When European language specialists saw the inscription, they unanimously called it fraudulent.

After this rejection, the stone went back to Ohman. Rather than ending the debate, this academic dismissal was just the beginning of a controversy that continues today.

Hjalmar Holand’s Involvement

Norwegian-American historian Hjalmar Holand got the stone from Ohman in 1907. Ohman later sold it to him for $10 in 1911.

Holand spent the next fifty years defending the stone’s authenticity. He wrote many articles and books claiming medieval Norse explorers reached Minnesota.

His tireless promotion kept the stone famous despite expert doubts. Without Holand’s efforts, the Kensington Runestone might have been forgotten rather than becoming a lasting mystery.

Minnesota Historical Society Investigation

The Minnesota Historical Society formed a research team to study the stone in 1910. State geologist Newton Horace Winchell led this formal investigation.

The team tried to determine how old the tree was that grew above the stone. By examining similar trees nearby, they estimated it might have been 30-40 years old.

Their report considered both the stone’s physical properties and its language but reached no clear conclusion. This official study created even more debate.

Evidence Against Authenticity

Language experts found modern Swedish patterns in the writing that didn’t match 14th-century language. Several rune symbols on the stone weren’t used during medieval times.

The phrase “exploration journey” particularly troubled scholars. This wording didn’t appear in genuine old Norse texts but sounded like modern Scandinavian language.

The carved letters also looked too fresh for a stone exposed to weather for 500 years. This suggested someone made the inscription much more recently.

Ohman’s Potential Knowledge of Runes

Though Ohman claimed to know nothing about runes, evidence suggests otherwise. His personal books included volumes with runic alphabets and Swedish history.

One book he owned was a history of Sweden by Professor Oskar Montelius that showed runic examples. This book was distributed as a newspaper supplement just before the stone’s discovery.

Ohman’s friend, former pastor Sven Fogelblad, knew about runes and ancient languages. Having been educated in Sweden, Ohman likely learned about these ancient symbols in school.

The Role of Scandinavian Identity in Minnesota

The stone appeared during growing interest in Norse heritage across America. Just five years earlier, Norway had sent a Viking ship to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, sparking public interest in Viking exploration.

Minnesota’s large Scandinavian immigrant community embraced the runestone as possible proof their ancestors reached America first. The stone became a point of pride for Swedish and Norwegian Americans.

For these immigrants, the stone offered a sense of belonging in their new country. If real, it meant their ancestors had reached America’s heartland centuries before other Europeans.

Visiting Runestone Museum, Minnesota

You’ll find the Kensington Runestone at the Runestone Museum in Alexandria, Minnesota. The museum offers guided tours that explain how Swedish immigrant Olof Ohman discovered the controversial stone in 1898.

The museum displays the actual 202-pound stone behind protective glass. You can examine the runic inscriptions up close and see a replica of the poplar tree roots where Ohman claimed to find it.

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