Ole Bull Papers

Consists of a leaflet written by Norman B. Wilkinson and published by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1962 and several Norwegian newspaper article written about Bull dating from 1929 to 1956. The leaflet contains information on Ole Bull’s music and compositions, emigration and colonization, and political activities.

Biographical Note

Ole Bull was a Norwegian with a lifelong interest in the arts and Norwegian culture. As a young man, he was actively involved in the “Young Norway” patriotic movement. He was also an accomplished violinist and composer. Mr. Bull often toured America and other countries and was always well received. He was an admirer of the American way of life and in 1852, he emigrated to America, bought land, and set up a colony in Pennsylvania meant to be a utopia for Norwegian artists and others who were tired of aristocratic rule. Ole Bull worked with John Cowan to buy the land and together they planned for four villages and began moving settlers to the colony until over 500 resided in the area.

During the early years of the colony, Bull went on tour many times to raise money to fund his venture and also diligently worked in making sure things ran smoothly. However, tragedy befell him in 1853, when he discovered that John Cowan did not own the rights to the land that he sold to Ole Bull. The owners demanded that Bull pay a steep price for the land, and the settlers began to move out. In a series of suits and countersuits, Ole Bull’s dream of a utopia fell through. In 1857, he returned to Europe brokenhearted. He continued to tour and in 1869 married a lady from Wisconsin. Ole Bull died on the Island of Lyso in 1880. The area he colonized in Pennsylvania was turned into a state park bearing his name.