Sheridan County, Nebraska

Early Norwegian Settlement

Peter T. Johnson and Knut T. Johnson from Holta near Stavanger, together with John H. Jacobsen and Tollef Sand, came from Holstein in Ida County, Iowa, and settled at Rushville in 1885. According to one account, they were the first Norwegian settlers in Sheridan County. The author noted, however, that this was disputed by some local residents, and one correspondent reported that Henry Cleven had already arrived in 1884. The settlers established themselves on the open prairie, where they built dugouts and began raising wheat and potatoes. Valentine, about one hundred miles away, was their nearest marketplace.

Churches and Congregations

A Norwegian congregation was established in the settlement in 1889 by Pastor P. T. Hilmen of the Norwegian Synod.

Sources:

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