The first person to trade and buy fish on the square was the merchant Chr. Brun from Hammerfest. He operated there from 1841 to 1881. From 1885 to 1898, Feddersen & Nissen ran it in the same way. Oline (née Amundsdatter) and Johannes Kvalsvik came to the place from Langstrand, and ran the fish purchase and trade there until Johannes died at sea in 1893. Oline married the renowned hunter and fisherman Ole Nilsen from Båtsfjord in 1894, and they ran the place with small farms, salmon fishing and otter hunting until the evacuation. Johan Kvalsvik has described his stepfather, Ole Nilsen, as one of the best things that could happen to a boy who had lost his father at that time. He received both schooling and training in hunting, fishing and boat building, and it was this knowledge that enabled him to build up the trading post of Skrednes in his time. 

If you want to hear more of the story, contact Ola Larsen, who now owns and operates the place. He is a retired fisherman and knows the history of the place well, having grown up there.