Under the leadership of John Luraas, forty pioneers came from Norway to Muskego Lake in 1839 and founded one of the most important settlements in Norwegian-American history. After temporary setbacks, the community flourished through the leadership of Even Heg, Johannes Johanssen, Soren Bache, Elling Eilsen, James Reymert, and Claus Clausen, who sent glowing reports to Norway and encouraged a large movement to this country. The settlement gave rise to the first Norwegian Lutheran congregation organized in America in 1843 and published the first Norwegian-American newspaper. Old Muskego became known as a mother colony to other settlements, schools, and churches springing up on the new frontier, and countless wagonloads of newcomers stopped there before continuing west. Nearby Heg Park commemorates Colonel Hans C. Heg, one of Wisconsin’s Civil War heroes.