Oleona, originally spelled Oleana, is an unincorporated community in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States established by the Norwegian violinist Ole Bull. History During his stay in the United States, the violinist Ole Bull purchased a large piece of land in Potter County, Pennsylvania, in 1852. He gave it the name Oleana or New Norway. Bull's intention was to invite Scandinavian immigrants to build and settle there. It soon became apparent that the land was not suitable for settlement at all. In the first year, up to 700 immigrants settled and tried to establish new homes there, roads were created, and a sawmill and other facilities were built. However, already after one year, the settlers realized that it was not possible to make a living because of the poor soil, and so they moved on, many to Wisconsin. When Bull arrived in New York in 1852, he was deeply disappointed that the Storting had rejected his application for support for a theater he himself had started in Bergen; namely, the National Theater. Instead, he now devoted himself to the New Norway project high up in the Allegheny Mountains, which Henrik Wergeland had written a beautiful poem about. He purchased the area there with the New York attorney John Hopper (the son of Isaac Hopper) and a third party. He received 11,144 acres for a total of $10,388, and he became chairman of an operating company with John F. Cowan as manager. Bull's contribution to the operating company was $25,000 because everything from roads and homes to a church and a school, a mill, and canals were needed here. In the neighboring county there was a foundry, and the company hoped for a profitable government contract for casting 10,000 cannons. They also hoped for railways and to find ore. The first settlers arrived in September 1852. They received $15 a month, as well as board and lodging. They were allowed to buy land at an introductory price of $3 per acre, rising to $10 after a few years. Bull also selected a plot for his own house. "We are here to found a new Norway, dedicated to freedom and independence, and protected by the glorious flag of America," he declared at the inauguration on September 8, 1852. However, to own land in Pennsylvania one had to be a US citizen, or declare that one wanted to become so. Bull resolved this issue