Introduction, the old farm.

Ytre Eikjo is an idyllic roadless farm in a fjord in the western part of Norway. Its primary name today is Ytre Eikjo, but it also goes under the name Ytre Eikum. It once belonged to my great-great-grandfather Mons Eikum. You could say that he was the last "storbonde" of Ytre Eikjo before splitting it into smaller farms or parcels. A "storbonde" is a farmer who owns a larger farm, and he often had people who worked for him. Before Mons, the earliest registered farmer of Ytre Eikjo was called Styrk, and he lived there in 1567. Mons bought the farm in 1897 ³. On one of the farms, the farm Laberg which has been in our family since Mons, I and my brother and my sister have today our family cabin. It has become a special place for me, and perhaps it will be a place that arouses your curiosity. I will try to gather some of the historic pieces of this place in this work in progress story.

Ytre Eikjo farm seen from the sea, the year 1911. Family photo/Public domain.

The farm lies under Eikjastrondi ¹ in the luster municipality together with three others. The source says that Eikjastrondi is a grend, the closest denotation for this in English would be a hamlet. I feel that the farms are too scattered for being called that. But it is at least an area that extends from Notedalen (Notedal) in the north-east to Ytre Eikjo in the south-west. With a road that goes to Vedviki (Vedvik) via Notedalen. Then it is a little over a kilometer of rugged terrain to Ytre Eikjo, where all traffic has to go by boats. In the other direction, there are about five kilometers to the nearest road in the village of Solvorn.

Overview of two of the farms on Ytre Eikjo. Upper left is the farm that today is called Eikjum Ytre and has still part of the main house from the old farm, and to the right is the farm Laberg. Family photo/Public domain.

In 1916 did Mons divided Ytre Eikjo into 12 parcels ⁶. The main farm has the name of the old farm, Eikjum Ytre. On its left side, you have Solberg, and then there is Laberg in between them. Laberg is today divided into two. Right for the main farm, you have Hagen, Bøen, Bønes, Bøteigen, and Myreteigen furthest to the northeast. There were also four uncultivated parcels. Two of them are today merged, and those are Hilleren and Skogheim. The two others are Eikjeteig and Stuaflåten.

Map with marking of the twelve parcels. — The twelve parcels of Ytre Eikjo.