The Kensington Runestone: The Story and What Is True

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The Kensington Runestone is a story told about Runestone Museum, Alexandria, Douglas County. Vote believe it or no way, then see what 3 named sources say is documented.

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Central LakesRegion
Nov 1Checked, 2026

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Local legend. Not confirmed. Just for fun.

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The Kensington Runestone

People say Norse explorers reached the middle of Minnesota in 1362, a full 130 years before Columbus. The proof, they say, is a carved stone found in the roots of a tree on a farm near Kensington in 1898. The runes tell of a party of Goths and Norwegians who camped by a lake and came back from fishing to find ten of their men dead. Today the stone sits in a museum in Alexandria, and visitors still argue over whether it is real.

What The Sources Document

The Minnesota Historical Society (MNopedia) says Swedish immigrant Olof Ohman found the roughly 200-pound slab while clearing land on his farm near Kensington in the fall of 1898. The inscription is generally read as describing 8 Goths and 22 Norwegians, ten dead men, and the date 1362. MNHS reports that experts who studied the runes in 1899 rejected them because of departures from known fourteenth-century Scandinavian forms, and that most later experts agree. A 2003 geologist's conclusion that the carving is more than 200 years old is described as highly contested. MNHS says expert opinion favors the view that the inscription is not authentic, but who made it, and how, when and why, is unresolved. The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce gives the weight as 202 pounds and says the stone is displayed at the Runestone Museum. Ohman never admitted to a hoax. The museum itself calls the stone world famous and controversial.

Sources: Kensington Runestone (MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society); History of Alexandria MN (Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, tourism office); Runestone Museum.

A Note

Experts disagree. The Minnesota Historical Society says most consider the stone not authentic and names Olof Ohman as the most likely maker, which he never admitted. Not confirmed: the museum's street address on its home page.

Its home: Runestone Museum. Official page.

On this site: Historic Sites, Timeline, Central Lakes Events.

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Where do these facts come from?

From the named sources listed on this page: Kensington Runestone (MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society); History of Alexandria MN (Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, tourism office); Runestone Museum.

Sources

Read on November 1, 2026. Stories are for fun; the facts come from these sources. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? tell us.

Cite this page: It's Minnesota, “The Kensington Runestone”, itsminnesota.com/legends/kensington-runestone/ (updated 2026-11-01). By the It's Minnesota editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.

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