Cedar County, Nebraska

Early Norwegian Settlement

Bernhard Olsen from the Kristiania (Oslo) area was the first Norwegian settler in Cedar County. He came from Allamakee County, Iowa, and settled near Hartington in 1869. Martin Bottolfsen from Valdres came with him. Both men had died by 1905. Olsen had served in the Civil War. Like many other early settlers, they initially had to make do with dugouts. Yankton, South Dakota, was the nearest marketplace at the time. Wheat and oats were the principal crops raised for sale.

One of the old Norwegian settlers recalled an incident involving a German settler who had acquired land crossed by a commonly used shortcut. After building a dugout there, he ordered people to take another route. One moonlit night, however, a man identified only as G. H. was returning from town in high spirits and drove directly over the dugout. His pony’s legs broke through the roof, but the animal was moving fast enough to pull free. The startled German rushed outside wearing only his shirt. According to the story, he later sold the property and moved away.

Churches and Congregations

Bow Valley Congregation was the first Norwegian congregation in Cedar County. It was established in 1874 by Pastor E. Christensen and belonged to the Norwegian Synod. Its church was built in 1886. By 1905, Cedar County had three Norwegian congregations and three churches. Two congregations belonged to the United Church and one to the Norwegian Synod.

Sources:

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