The story
History
The land which was to become Larsmo rose from the sea some 2,000 years ago, due to post-glacial rebound. Today the municipality consists of more than 360 islands.
The name Larsmo was first recorded around 1375 as Lamershamby and later Larismo (1544), Larsmoo, Larsmo (1546), and Larismo by (1548).
The administrative municipality Larsmo was founded in 1867, having previously belonged to the parish of Pedersöre. Hunting, fishing and agriculture used to be important sources of income. However, industry and service have now taken over since the changes of agriculture nowadays require larger farms to be profitable. The businesses are mainly influenced by the strong traditions of crafting or boat building.
Finnish independence movement
The municipality came to play an interesting role in the Finnish independence-movement. During the dark autumn night of December 6, 1905, the steamer SS John Grafton sailed into the Larsmo archipelago with its cargo of weapons, meant to be used for the independence movement in Finland and the revolutionary attempts in Russia. The cargo was unloaded and transported away with the help of the local population. However, the ship ran aground when the ship was heading out to sea. The crew decided to blow up the ship before the Russian guards would find it. The crew fled to Sweden with some smaller sailing vessels and the ship was blown up on December 8. The news soon spread around the world and was mentioned in a number of newspapers. This incident is often counted as the first attempt for a free Finland and to obtain independence from Russia. There is a monument on Orrskär. SS Equity, another ship, loaded with weapons, also unloaded its cargo in the Larsmo archipelago, and a memorial plate is now in place at the Tolvmangrundet island.
Emigration
Emigrants from Larsmo founded the town of Larsmont, Minnesota, in the United States in the early 1900s. They originally requested to name the town Larsmo, but railroad officials did not approve and instead chose the name Larsmont.
Recreation
There are a number of paved pedestrian roads in the municipality. There are walking paths of different lengths in Holm (8 and 13 km), as well as in Fagernäs (5 km), Bosund (8 km) and on Öuran (5.7 km).
The winter sports are concentrated to Holm where there are 5.5 km of skiing paths as well as facilities for biathlon. Ice hockey rinks are located in Risö, Holm, Näs and Bosund.
There are nine un-supervised beaches in the municipality: Vikarholmen, Assarskär, Fagernäs, Kackur, Sonamo, Köpmanholmen, Annäsgrundet, Svennasminne and Brännbacka. Most of them have dressing rooms, toilets and life-saving equipment.
From Wikipedia’s article on Larsmo, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4