Primary Name: Folquart Wolland

Filed as: Wolland, Folquart

Born: March 20, 1847 – Inderøy, Nordre Trondhjem Stift, Norway

Associated places: Inderøy, Norway; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Mishawaka, Indiana; Chicago, Illinois; Tacoma, Washington; Sitka, Alaska; Skagway, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska

Occupation / Association: Businessman; civic leader

Affiliation: Charter Member, Juneau Men's Igloo No. 6

Keywords: Norwegian immigrant, Skagway City Council, Juneau City Council, Alaska civic history, Pioneers of Alaska

Biography

Folquart Wolland was a charter member of the Juneau Men's Igloo.

He was born on March 20, 1847, in Inderøy, Nordre Trondhjem Stift, Norway. He was raised and educated in the Lutheran Church.

At the age of twenty-two, he emigrated to the United States. On May 1, 1869, he boarded a steamer at Trondhjem, Norway, bound for England. After arriving at Shields, he traveled through Newcastle and Glasgow and then crossed the Atlantic aboard the Cambria, landing at Castle Garden, New York, on May 20, 1869.

He then traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he first settled and began learning English while working for low wages. After about a year and a half, he moved to Mishawaka, Indiana, and later to Chicago, Illinois, where he obtained his citizenship papers. He lived in Chicago during the Great Fire of 1871 and suffered losses in that disaster.

In 1876, he began traveling westward, working in various towns and cities before arriving in California in the early part of 1883. A year later, he moved to Tacoma, Washington, where he entered business and acquired property. The economic collapse of 1893 affected his business there.

Wolland came to Alaska in the summer of 1895. During the following three years, he made two trips back to the States, but after 1898, he remained continuously in the Territory. Sitka was his first stop.

In 1899, he moved to Skagway, where he established a small business. Active in civic affairs, he was elected to the Skagway City Council in 1902 and served two terms. He was instrumental in the development of the city's water system and the establishment of official street grades.

In 1904, he moved to Juneau and was elected to the Juneau City Council, serving three terms.

Sources

• Pioneers of Alaska Men’s Igloo No. 6 Biographical Sketch
• The Founding of Juneau, R. N. DeArmond, 1980, p. 174