Øvre Stjørdal
History
The municipality was established in 1850 when the old municipality of Stjørdalen was divided into Øvre Stjørdal (population: 5,100) and Nedre Stjørdal (population: 6,543). On 1 January 1874, the municipality of Øvre Stjørdal ceased to exist when it was split to form two new municipalities: Hegra (population: 3,409) in the east and Meraker (population: 1,861) in the west.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Stjørdalen valley (Old Norse: Stjórardalr). The first element is the word Øvre which means "upper", referring to the fact that it is the upper part of the valley. The second element is the genitive case of the local river name Stjór (now called the Stjørdalselva river). The meaning of the river name is unknown. The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".
Government
During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.
Mayors
The mayors of Øvre Stjørdal:
- 1850–1851: Haftor Gundersen Skjelstad
- 1851–1853: Halvor Johnsen Øverkil
- 1854–1857: Sivert Andreas Fergstad
- 1858–1861: Johannes Røyem
- 1862–1865: Jens Henrik Winsnes
- 1866–1869: Johannes Røyem
- 1869–1873: Halvor Johnsen Øverkil