As you navigate through this website you will find yourself immersed in what is, as far as we know at this time, the first ever digitally documented history of Finnish immigrants in New Hampshire, and specifically in Newport, the small town in Sullivan County known as the Sunshine Town.

The information provided on this site reveals a little known story within the history of America that may lead you to develop a more robust knowledge on three different levels: World history, American history, and local history. The site touches upon Swedish and American History and their relationship to one another, discussing the events that caused the Swedes to send Finns to America, the Industrial Revolution and Great Migration in America, and the history of New Hampshire communities and culture.

While we hope the information on this site provides you with tools to further your own learning and expand the digital archive of history in this technological age, it is our greatest hope to use this space to share and potentially complete the stories of real people in America, and in our community, New Hampshire. We strongly believe that the more visible history is, the more whole it will become.

We encourage viewers to visit our photos pages to see the Finns that lived in Newport, New Hampshire and how they lived. Many of these photos do not have names attached to them, so please, if you know anyone that might be able to identify these people, let us know. They could be your ancestors!

We also suggest that visitors take a look at our Timeline of ALL Known Dates Regarding Finnish History in Newport to easily view and explore a detailed history of Newport’s Finns. Some of the information and dates on this timeline are not illustrated on the rest of the site, but they may be interesting or important to you!

Be inspired and enjoy!

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