Boone County, Nebraska

Early Norwegian Settlement

According to this account, the first Norwegian settler in Boone County was Anders Andersen Strand from Numedal. He came from Wisconsin and settled at Albion in 1870. He was followed by Ole Knudsen Strand from Numedal, Mikkel Thompson Fauske from Etnedalen, Valdres, and Lars Tostensen Rekve from Voss. The settlers established themselves on the open prairie, where they initially lived in dugouts and began raising wheat, corn, and livestock. Columbus, about fifty miles away, was their nearest marketplace, and oxen were used both for plowing and transportation. Two descendants of emigrants who had crossed the Atlantic aboard the Restauration in 1825 were also living at Albion: Jacob Tostensen, a saddler, and A. Nelson, a carpenter. The source does not state whether they were still living in 1905.

Pioneer Life on the Prairie

Mikkel Thompson, one of the early settlers, later described conditions in Boone County during the pioneer years. When he arrived, there were still very few white settlers. The first election was held in 1872, and only a Justice of the Peace and a Constable were elected. According to Thompson, both had plenty to do because lawlessness was widespread. Shortly before Christmas, Thompson was summoned as a witness in a court case. He had to walk fifteen miles to the courthouse, which was little more than a sod hut. There were no settlers anywhere along the route, and the surrounding prairie appeared almost completely deserted.

The case was not concluded until evening, and Thompson then started home. On the way, he was caught in a severe snowstorm. Lightly dressed and aware that wandering off course might leave him twenty or thirty miles from the nearest settlement, he realized that finding shelter had become a matter of survival. He decided to follow the first valley he encountered and, if possible, locate a creek. His plan was to follow the water downstream until it reached a larger river, since settlers were most likely to be found in valleys and along waterways. It was dark, and the terrain was so steep in places that he had to crawl on all fours. Nevertheless, he continued following the winding creek. Eventually, he reached what felt like a sod wall. Relieved, he searched along the roof with his hands until he found a door. He knocked repeatedly but received no answer. Finally, he broke down the door and struck a match. To his astonishment and great relief, he discovered that he had found his own sod house.

Getting Lost on the Open Prairie

Another incident occurred in 1875, when Halvor Funru from Numedal was stacking hay. Fog and wet weather developed during the morning, and he put down his hayfork and started for home. He walked for hours without reaching it. Late that evening, he encountered a Swedish settler and discovered that he had wandered far into neighboring Platte County. He returned home by horse the following day. A similar experience occurred in 1876 or 1877 to the wife of Iver Løsnæs, a settler from Gudbrandsdalen. She went to a pond in the nearest valley to fetch water. Although she found the pond and filled her pails, dense fog caused her to lose her sense of direction on the return journey. Realizing that she had gone the wrong way, she set down the pails and continued wandering. Late in the evening, she found a sod house. The people living there spoke English, while she was newly arrived from Norway and could not understand them. Eventually, they realized from her mention of Newman Grove that she came from that area. She had wandered well into Madison County. The following day, the family took her to Newman Grove, about twenty miles away, and from there she was hurried another sixteen miles to her home at Closter, where her family had naturally become deeply concerned.

From Open Prairie to Settled Farmland

Thompson recalled that incidents of this kind were common because the prairie looked much the same in every direction. There were few roads or wagon tracks, and the landscape resembled an open sea. By 1905, conditions had changed completely. The land had been cultivated, houses stood much closer together, and roads were bordered by wire fences. Thompson observed that it had become almost impossible to become lost in the way the pioneers once had.

Sources:

[Ulvestad, Martin. Nordmændene i Amerika. Utg. History Book Company's Forlag. Minneapolis, Minn. 1907.]