Arnt O. Rhea (October 10, 1852 – May 25, 1937) was an American politician, businessman, and educator. Born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, Rhea emigrated with his parents in 1861 to

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and settled in

La Crosse County, Wisconsin La Crosse County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the county's population was 120,784. Its county seat is the city of La Crosse. La Crosse County is included in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropo ...

. Rhea went to La Crosse Business College,

Gale College Gale College (also Galesville University and Marynook) was a private college in Galesville, Wisconsin. It was founded by George Gale (Wisconsin politician), George Gale, opening in 1854 and closing in 1939. Several religious denominations used th ...

, River Falls Normal School, and Winona Normal School. He taught school in La Crosse County and elected La Crosse County Superintendent of Schools. In 1893, Rhea moved to Thorp, Wisconsin, where he served as principal and later was elected

Clark County, Wisconsin Clark County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 34,659. The county seat is Neillsville. History By the early 1800s, the land and streams that are now Clark County were the hunting grounds of ...

Superintendent of Schools. He also owned a farm and was involved with the Gilman Manufacturing Company in Gilman, Wisconsin,

Taylor County, Wisconsin Taylor County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,913. Its county seat is Medford. It is mostly rural, lying roughly where corn and dairy farms to the south give way to forest and swamp to ...

. In 1913, Rhea served in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

and was a Republican. He died at his daughter's house in

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Wisconsin Dells is a city in Columbia, Sauk, Adams and Juneau counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city takes its name from the Dells of the Wisconsin River, a scenic gorge that features sandstone formations along the banks of the W ...

in 1937.'Arnt O. Rhea-obituary,' Neillsville Press (Wisconsin), May 27, 1937

Notes

1852 births 1937 deaths Politicians from Trondheim People from Thorp, Wisconsin Politicians from La Crosse, Wisconsin Norwegian emigrants to the United States Gale College alumni University of Wisconsin–River Falls alumni Winona State University alumni Businesspeople from Wisconsin Educators from Wisconsin Farmers from Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Republican-1850s-stub