Founding of the colony in 1767
Norka is one of the earliest of the 104 colonies established on the Volga and was founded by the Russian government (a "Crown Colony") in contrast to those colonies settled by private recruiters.
After more than a year of travel from their homelands, the first colonists arrived at the banks of the Norka River on August 15, 1767. This group contained the majority of the first settlers.
In remaining days of August and the month of September, more immigrant families continued to settle in Norka. Four more groups arrived on August 18th, August 26th, September 2nd and September 22nd. Igor Pleve's book, "Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 3" lists the so called "first settlers" in Norka colony. This census list shows that there were 218 families comprised of 753 people living in the colony at the end of September 1767. By 1769, there were 772 people in Norka.
The colonists were primarily of the Reformed faith, although a small group of Lutherans and two Catholic families were also listed in the 1767 census. The majority of the colonists had origins in the county of Isenburg or the duchy of Hessen. Igor Pleve states that Norka is a rare example of a colony where the majority of the colonists came from the same region or county in the German speaking lands of Western Europe. Pleve believes this cohesiveness allowed colonies like Norka to more quickly establish sustainable economic activity.
Since Norka was a Crown Colony, log houses called Kron Häuser, or Crown Houses, had already been built by the government when the colonists arrived. The number of houses may have been inadequate to shelter all the colonists. Some family stories tell of their ancestors building huts that were partially underground, known as Semlinka or Semlinken, in order to live through the first winters until more housing could be built. The Semlinka had windows in the roof to let in some light and were large enought to accomodate three or four families. These earth homes were somewhat like the sod homes that were built in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas in the early years of settlement.
In the years after its founding, August 15th was commemorated as a public holiday in the colony known as Herkommstag.
Norka is situated on the Bergseite (hilly side) of the Volga River in the Canton (district) of Balzer, about 65 kilometers southwest of the city of Saratov. Saratov is also the name of the province in which Norka is located.
The colonists originally named their new settlement Weigand(t). This name was given in honor of the first Vorsteher (leader), Johann Conrad Weigandt. Weigandt, a stocking maker from Isenburg, is shown as the Vorsteher in the Kuhlberg lists for the group of colonists who arrived in Oranienbaum, Russia on August 9, 1766 aboard a pink (a type of ship) named "Slon". Several families in this group traveled together to the lower Volga region to establish the colony of Norka.
According to Peter Sinner ("Orts- und Flurnamen," from "Deutsches Leben in Russland," 1/1923), on February 26, 1768, the government issued a command that all of the German colonies be given a Russian name. With the exception of 8 colonies of the original 104, the colonists continued to use the German place names. The colony of Weigand was one of the exceptions and it is likely that from this early stage of settlement, "Norka" became the accepted name.
According to Jacob Dietz and Igor Pleve, the colony of Norka was named after the river along which it is located. The Norka River starts 2 to 3 kilometers west of the colony. The land surrounding the river was covered by tall grasses, shrubs and scattered forest areas.
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Stories passed down from the early settlers told of vicious dog-like animals that are twice the size of our prairie gophers who lived along the banks of the river. These animals lived underground and were plant eaters. Legend has it that these animals sometimes attacked chickens, ducks and even small children. Local Russian peasants called these animals "Norka" (норка), which in their native language is the name for the European or Russian mink.
After the deportation of the ethnic Germans in September 1941, it was decreed by Stalin's government that all of the Volga German colonies be given a Russian name. Although Norka already had a Russian name, it was given the new name of Nekrasovo - possibly named after the famous Russian writer, Nikolai Nekrasov.
To the west of the colony there is a hill that rises to an elevation of approximately 810 feet. The Karamysh River forms the eastern border of the Norka lands. Access to the Volga River was approximately 20 miles to the east at the colony of Schilling.
At the time the 1775 census was taken, there were 219 families comprising 957 colonists (501 men and 456 women) settled in the colony. Although many were listed as farmers, the census also notes that there were blacksmiths, a cooper, silk weavers, a camlet weaver, mill operators, a tailor, a shoemaker, a watchmaker, a wheelwright and a church sexton (working as a farmer) living in the colony.
Norka was originally settled on an allotment of 11,418 desyatina (approximately 30,829 acres). This allotment increased to 21,468 desyatina (approximately 57,964 acres) in 1886.
Norka became one of the largest German colonies in the Volga region. Despite the impact of emigration to the Americas beginning in the 1870s, the population peaked in 1912 at 14,236 people and declined drastically to 6,913 people by 1923. The sharp decline was largely a result of civil war and famine.
The namesake of Norka. Norka (or Norki) is the Russian name for a Russian Mink. Drawing source: Wikipedia.ru (public domain)
The Karamysh River formed the eastern boundary of the Norka lands. Photography courtesy of David T. Burbach, 2003.