The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-04-02
Ole BULBS Castle i'm Iowa.

About thirty or th;rty-five years age
! Ole Bull, the Norwegian violinist, with
one of those idiosyncrasies peculiar to
men of genius, turned his attention to
colonizing and speculations in lumber
Engaging a number of his country
men, who had reached New York
ontheir way to the fertile fields
of the West, he brought them
here. laid out q city and erected cabins
for their use. He purchased an i'm
mense tract of land in this region from
persons in New York, and made prepa-
rations to open up the forests on a
grand scale. About six miles below
here, on Kettle creek, high up on the
summit of the mountains, he built tor
himself q home. Endeavoring TO i'm
plant in this wilderness some memories
of the land he had left he constructed
a castle and furnished it with all the
embellishments that could be imported
into this out-of-theway place. A beau
tiful road winding up the mountain
side on gradual ascent led to his re-
treat. Artists were brought from afar
to add to the splendor of his castle, and
the painter and glider gave their handi-
work to complete the structure, while
paper of the most expensive kind COW
cred the walls ana added its charms to
the edifice. One mammoth room was
set apart as the concert hall, and here
Ole Bull exercised all his ingenuity in
it's decoration. The roof was composed
of glass, and the barbaric splendor was
we'll calculated to make one forget the
outside surroundings and yield them
selves to the subtle strains of the vio-
lin, and enter with spirit into the gage
ties and festivities with which Ole Bull
tried to surround himself
But all this was doomed to molder
and decay. Before the artisans had yet
ceased their labor trouble began to
show itself. Dissatisfaction began to
manifest itself among those who had
come with him to this land, and, al
though he expended money freely, and
tried to bring peace and harmony
among his retainers, the specter of re-
bellion would not vanish. About this
time, too, he discovered that the title to
his land was not worth the cost of it's
writing. He had bought it from per-
SOuS WHO ud(t no CHILL On III WlldleNeT,
and now the real owner came forward
and asserted his rights. Overwhelmed
by the thickening troubles that came
on him, he suddenly abandoned all, and
reappeered again among the haunts of
civilization, and, with his beloved violin
as his companion, began to retrieve his
wasted fortune by treadiLg the boards
behind the footlights.
The colony he had brought with him,
being left without leader, gradually
broke Up and became scattered far and
wide. Now scarcely one remains be-
hind to tell the story and record the
history of New Bergen. The castle on
the mountain top suffered from the
ravages of time and the despoliation of
the curiosity-seeker. Hundreds visited
the place, and most all carried away
some memento of this cole Bulls
Folly" till now scarcely log rem aims
to mark the spot. The only reminder
of the past is in the name of the little
village that clusters around the foot of
the mountain. 1t is called Oleona,
which is supposed to be what remains
after the shortening process of cole
wns-it."-NelC Bergen IOlCa) letter.