November 2019 posted here by Gary Gauer
This was a very sucessful 4 day event attended by 340 people with 24 from Norway and Sweden and the rest from 19 states.
My part was helping with the scheduling of the heritage bus tour of the Lake Lillian area. LaVonne furnished and updated information from the 1999 reunion.
See also my presentation entitled
Many people were involved in the reunion planning committees for many of the events See the group facebook pages. Anders Andersen Reunion
https://www.facebook.com/groups/297103187058303
This Narration includes more historical detail than it was possible to present during the tour.
The route maps and a condensed handout follow this narration.
Good morning, my name is _______________________, I will be your narrator/guide today.
(Start to read right away)
We want to welcome you on this Heritage Tour to Lake Lillian. We are very happy that you are interested in finding out where and how your ancestors or relatives lived. This trip will take you past many places that are much different now, than it was 155 years ago. We are sorry to say that in America old properties are not kept and maintained like they might be in Norway. But we will endeavor to tell the story and we hope you can use a little imagination of how things looked in the early days. We will make eight timed stops.
This morning we will be busy with
It is very important to adhere to the time schedule to get to lunch on time and coordinate with the other bus because
Each cemetery stop is allotted 20 minutes except for the pioneer union cemetery which needs 5 minutes extra for walking round trip from the bus to the gate. Hopefully there is enough time to find your relatives. You might want to come back later on your own time.
All stop durations include unloading and loading. Do not delay the bus.
Your guide will use a whistle to alert you at the midpoint of the cemetery stops and when 6 minutes remain.
|
sequence |
bus 1a |
bus 1b |
|
1 |
Pioneer Union |
Tromso cem |
|
2 |
Hanson silo |
Pioneer Union |
|
3 |
Tromso cem |
Hanson silo |
|
4 |
tour LL on bus |
United Lutheran |
|
5 |
United Lutheran |
tour LL on bus |
|
6 |
1940 cemetery |
1940 cemetery |
|
7 |
East LL Baptist |
East LL Baptist |
|
8 |
Methodist Cem |
Methodist Cem |
|
9 |
Madsen farm |
Madsen farm |
|
10 |
Willmar |
Willmar |
You have a brief guide and maps to follow. The narrator will read more detail for you as we go. We have even more background that is too extensive to read on the route. It will be posted on line and printed for view on my Lake Lillian display in the Heritage Room along with the route maps.
(On county Rd #8. Start reading after intersection before the church)
On your left, is the Tripolis Lutheran Church, started by a group of people from Sweden. A log church was built in 1871. The members donated the logs and assisted with the work of erecting the building. The present church was built in 1880 at a cost of $1,600. A portion of the old log church can be viewed in one of the basement rooms.
(Start reading on top of the hill)
To your right, is Lake Wakanda – A Historical Marker Shows the Site for a Refugee Camp – This was the spot where John Other Day, a friendly Sioux Indian, led a party of sixty-two white men, women and children out of danger when the Indians attacked the Upper Sioux Agency, during the Uprising. The party left the Agency at daybreak August 19, 1862, and camped at this site that evening. Four large flat Indian mounds used for ceremonial purposes were visible south of Lake Wakanda for many years.
Point out crops, corn, soybeans, etc.
Refer to your maps for the location numbers of sites closer to Lake Lillian:
(Start reading at first grove after intersection Ct. 20 & 8)
1. On your left is The Hanson Silo Company, which we will come back to later and do a walking tour.
It was founded here in Fahlun Township by Emil Hanson Jr. in 1916 and began as a leading manufacturer of cement stave silos. As Emil Hanson’s six sons grew up, they began working with the business. Silos were the only product of the concern until early in the 1930’s when they designed and built metal silo roofs. In 1950 the company started another plant at Luverne, Minnesota, in 1955 a plant was opened at Lake View, Iowa. As time went on, the company expanded into the preparation of frozen silage choppers, silo unloaders, silage distributors and the auger type bunk feeders. Emil Hanson, the founder, passed away in 1969. His sons, Carter, Willard, Newell, Donald, Vernal and Alloys continued to operate the business. Back in the 1920’s the Hanson’s also had one of the largest dairy herds in the county. Today, grandson, Gregg Hanson operates the business, another generation has been added since great-grandsons, Matthew and Michael Hanson started to work here, too. Gregg is a descendant of Johannes Anderson, son of Anders Anderson and his first wife, Marie Birgita Mortensdatter.
2. Before our stop at Pioneers Union Cemetery located on a beautiful knoll, the bus will stop on the gravel road where you will get off and walk on a narrow lane north to the cemetery. The bus will continue (empty) to turn around at the farm once owned by Ethelyde Bomstad Rasmussen, granddaughter of Hemming Anderson. Years ago, Hans Pete Hanson’s daughter, Hannah and August Carlson lived on this farm. Another daughter, Hattie and Christ Trygestad lived about two miles north. Elias Anderson, son of Anders Anderson and his second wife Elen Lavine Andersdatter and many immigrants from Tromsø, Norway are buried here. The first burial in this cemetery was Dunkert Vick, son of J.J. Vick, in 1869. Most of the pioneers in this area used this cemetery until they got their church cemeteries established. Be back on the bus in 25 minutes.
(Point out sugar beets -- pig farm -- cotton wood & box elder trees)
Read after and as the bus is traveling back to county road #8:
At the bridge is the Site of District #43 (left) where many of the relatives went to elementary school. Straight ahead is a view of Big Kandiyohi Lake known for good fishing, swimming and camping.
Near the lake is another Historical Site story is about Horse Stealing -- When a small band of Indians stole a herd of horses in Meeker County, the whites tracked the thieves for over twenty miles, to this area. Here they found the horses tethered and the Indians sound asleep. Thinking they’d have some fun with their victims the white men surrounded the Indians, then fired a gun. The Sioux awoke fighting and nearly killed or captured the white men before they, themselves, were killed. This happened in August 1863. On the other side of Big Kandiyohi Lake there was a Military Post. In 1865-66 this area was very much the frontier. Indians raided over the area at will, until mounted military patrols were established. A series of forts were built in 1865 and manned for about a year, before they were abandoned.
3. On the east side of the road is Tromsø Memorial Cemetery - this was the site of Tromsø Lutheran Free Church. The bus will stop here for 20 minutes including unload and reload.
The beginning work for starting a Norwegian Lutheran Church began in 1878, just one year after the grasshopper plague of 1876-77.
The congregation was organized and Tromsø Lutheran Church was chosen as the congregation’s official name. The church was built in 1895 for a cost of $850. Most of the members were from Tromsø, Norway. (start to read as soon as you get going on Co. Rd. 8)
4. On the west side of the road is the site of the Mamie & George Vick farm. Mamie was a daughter of Hans Peter & Kristine Hanson. George was a grandson of an early pioneer John Johnson Vick from Tromsø, who homesteaded this property in 1865. George and Mamie lived on this farm for almost 50 years. In 1997 the Vick family sold 280 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. The land is being restored to a wetland.
5. Not much remains of the old hemp plant built in WWII on the west side of the road.
(Start to read before you arrive at the old hemp plant)
On the lakeshore is the site of the “Original” Lake Lillian Creamery built in 1893. Andrew Anderson’s son, Ben built a store in 1891. Mrs. Christine Johnson built a second store building. There was a blacksmith shop, also. The place became a commercial center of the community. The creamery burned in 1900, and as it was not rebuilt upon the same spot, the future of this little hamlet as a business center was destroyed.
On your right is the Site of Andrew and Anna Anderson’s farm.
After Andrew returned from the military service, he married Anna Johanna Hansdatter and bought this farm from George Hart. The farm had unique buildings, a large white house constructed of concrete made from limestone and an eight-sided barn During the drought in the 30’s the lake totally dried up. People could walk across and many grew potatoes in the lakebed.
Harry Hawkins now Wittman Corner. This was also referred to as the Picnic Grove Corner, a wooded area, popular for picnics, 4th of July Celebrations and revival meetings.
6. We are approaching the Village of Lake Lillian, started in 1923. This site was chosen because of the Luce Line Railroad, which later extended west beyond Lake Lillian.. The white? frame house (South of the Post Office) was moved in from “Old Thorp”. Mary Anderson the second wife of Hemming Anderson & postmistress for Lake Lillian lived here. Go west on Milkiway. Note the creamery building and go north on 1st St west
Hans K. & Olga Petterson house (Have the bus go slow or stop very briefly)
was built by Hans K. in Old Thorp. It was moved into Lake Lillian in 1923 on the completion of the Luce Line Railroad. The move took two days. Alice Petterson Erickson and her mother Olga walked behind the house during the move. As a 13-year-old, Alice wanted to ride in the house instead of walking but she was not allowed to. The family did sleep in their own beds the one night on the road. Mr. Vath must have been a good mover as the house was moved with the dishes left in the cupboards. A grandson, Lowell Petterson & family live in the house today which has been remodeled and many changes made.
Grace Lutheran Church built in 1947, formerly Tromsø Lutheran Free Church. Notice the log cabin in the park, similar to the cabins used by the early pioneers of Lake Lillian.
Cross over main street (LakeView St) and follow the alley south to Milkiway Ave and turn west at the Blacksmith Shop.
Hans K. Petterson did not move his Blacksmith Shop to Lake Lillian. He sold the building to Mr. Strom who owned the store and used the building as a stable. Hans built a new building in Lake Lillian and continued his blacksmithing, repair on farm machinery, shoeing horses, pumping gas, etc. He would even make farm calls with his blacksmith equipment if needed. He was a real Jack-of-All-Trades. He was a man with a fourth-grade education but when the Rural Electrification came to the area, he taught himself how to be an electrician. He got a Master’s License and wired many farms in the area.
After the death of Hans K., his son Harvey took over Petterson Electric on the north corner and after Harvey’s death, the business has continued to be operated by his widow Helen and son Lowell, the third generation of Pettersons,
On the south corner is the City Center.
United Lutheran is consolidated in 2006 from the former (Norwegian, Tromso) Grace and (Swedish, Christina) First Lutheran congregations. Note the building addition of 2010.
There are restrooms (also in the basement). Both buses will be here for 50 minutes each. There is one presentation at 10:20. (Coffee and donuts ?)
Continue the LL tour through the church parking lot and go north at 1st Street E to
Farmdale Avenue) go east by the newly refurbished ball park and look east to see the Hemming Anderson homesteaded land in Section 18 in 1871. then go south on 2nd St E. to see the St. Thomas More Catholic Church (closed) and The Lake Lillian School that was built in 1955. It replaced several country schools. The beginning of school consolidation. The school building was used for a business owned by one of Hemming Anderson’s great-granddaughters. (Turn right at) a Lake Lillian Park, (go west back to Lakeview St.
7. The bus will stop here for 20 minutes including unload and reload. This Lake Lillian Community Cemetery was established in 1940. It is the youngest and nearly full. Halfrida Sebulonsen Erickson from Tromso is buried here along with the parents of Gary Gauer and many others from this community.
There is another Lutheran cemetery called Christina located 3.5 miles to the west and less than a mile south and at the site of the old Christina Church torn down in 1925. Salvageable lumber was used to build the then new First Lutheran.
8. (Begin reading at 1 mile--Have the bus slow depending on traffic at 2 miles ) On the south side of the road is the “Old Thorp” site located 2 miles east of Lake Lillian on MN Highway 7. There was a creamery started in 1896 in Section 21, ice house for the creamery, butter maker's house, E.J. Strom’s grocery store, bank, post office, feed mill, some houses, barns, chicken coops. Hans K. Petterson had a blacksmith shop and garage here. The buildings were moved to the Village of Lake Lillian in 1923.
9. Hans Pete Hanson lived on this farm on the north side of the road from 1884-1914. He built the house on this farm. In 1914 Hans Pete and Kristine moved a half-mile south to the farm known as the “Forty” where they lived until they moved to Minneapolis after retirement. Hans Pete would ski cross-country to Hannah Carlson’s farm in the winter by Pioneers Union Cemetery, our first stop. He was also known for his strength. His son, Olaf, went to work for the Townley Construction Co., in North Dakota as a young man; here he met his wife, Ella. After their marriage they returned to Lake Lillian. The family farmed here from 1914 until 1942 when they moved to California where Olaf worked in a ship building plant. Ella was employed rewinding motors.
10. At 3 miles from Co. Rd. 8, turn left on 136 – no road sign) The Anton Hanson farm is located farther east along #7 1½ miles from his brother, Hans Pete Hanson’s farm. Anton moved away in 1907 to near New England, North Dakota. (That farm was owned later by the Gauer family from 1911 to 1942)
11. At the NE corner of Highway 7 and 136 we will see where Hattie (daughter of Hemming Anderson) and Peter Oslund lived.
12. (Stop the bus for 20 minutes, including unload and load.) This is the Lake Lillian Baptist Church site and cemetery. Through the efforts of a traveling missionary the congregation was organized in 1898. The church was built the following year. Some were former members of the Methodist Church. Anderson relatives, Adrianna Anderson Bomstad, (Mrs. Albert), Lavine (Mrs. Ingebrigt Johnson), Christopher & Berit Marie Johnson and Mary Owre Anderson (Hemming Anderson’s second wife), Soren and Martha Jacobson and some their descendants are buried here, plus several other Tromsø immigrants, siblings; Josefine Sofia Johnson Haroldson, Ingebrigt & Stromme Johnson. Another sister, Elen Hannah Johnson Vick is buried at the Tromsø Memorial Cemetery.
Go west at Co. road 17—pull into the parking lot at the Methodist cemetery)
13. We will stop and get off the bus again for 20 minutes at the Scandinavian Methodist Episcopal Church site and cemetery. We want you to remain seated for a brief history of the church before you get off the bus.
Start reading as soon as you leave The Baptist cemetery.
This congregation was organized in 1866 under the leadership of Rev. H. Holland, a circuit-riding pastor who fanned the spark of the gospel in this community. Elias Anderson and three other families constituted the nucleus of this work. In the early days the same pastor served the Lake Lillian and Lake Elizabeth churches. Early records were kept together. The first services in the Lake Lillian area were held in homes and after the schoolhouses were built, they were used also. Elias homesteaded land in Section 5 & 8 on March 8, 1865, nearby. After his death, son, Hemming took over the farm. Hemming donated land for the church and cemetery. In 1890 the congregation built a church building for $1200. At this time a great revival swept the countryside and brought many members into the church. Another son of Elias, Andrew Anderson, donated the original parsonage.
You may now get off the bus,
14. Continue west to view the east side of the lake near where Rev. J.A.J. Bomstad settled on the NE corner and go north on #4.
15. As we pass Co. Rd. 83, the road on the east, we note that we are near the unmarked site where Elias Anderson’s wife, Beate Hemmingsdatter was buried as well as a few other early settlers before the Pioneers Union Cemetery was started in 1869.
Go by the farm site on the west side where LaVonne Bomsta Hookom lived as a girl.
16. The Harlan Madsen Farm Continue north on #4 to 125th Ave and go east one mile to the farm where we will explore the modern dairy operation and have a lunch. Be back on the bus to head back to Willmar. Bus 1a leaves at 2:35 and bus 1b at 2:50.
17. (Start to read at 105th Avenue) The Lake Elizabeth Hamlet started with a post office in 1865, a store and creamery were built, and by 1904 it was a budding community with a coop creamery, store, feed mill, post office and phone exchange that lasted until about 1936. Look for the white fence and brick building on the right. The remaining creamery building was built in 1917. This is all that is left of the original buildings. There was a rural Baptist Church out in the field to the west until 1953. The Cemetery was used by a Baptist congregation in Atwater after that.
18. Continue north and west via county 4 and 20 to rejoin #8 on the way back north.
(a short distance after the first curve on County Rd. 8) On the right side of the road is Little Kandiyohi County Lake. (As you come around the second curve the next site is visible, just south of Wakanda Lake) Off to the left side of the road tucked in the trees was another Swedish congregation named Oak Park Methodist Church incorporated in 1873. The very first services were held in homes as early as 1859. This congregation was known to have many good singers.
Thank you for joining us for this Heritage Tour. We would invite you to go to the Kandiyohi County Historical Museum where you can get more historical information. In the Genealogy, Display and Photo room back at the Willmar Conference Center, we have a copy of The Centennial History of Kandiyohi County, which has information about the Indian Uprising and more detailed information on the Townships we drove through today. There are Family Charts and notebooks with cemetery records from Pioneers Union, Tromsø Memorial, Lake Lillian Baptist and East Lake Lillian. These lists have the Anderson family and Tromsø immigrants marked plus notes about some of the people.
What began as a trading center and with the coming of the tracks for the St Paul and Pacific railroad in 1869, is now the thriving city of Willmar. It was named the Kandiyohi County seat in 1871, and has experienced economic and community growth since its establishment. The area has a rich Scandinavian heritage with citizens who have a good sense of history. Our origin as a railroad town in a farming community and the many stories of the immigrants who settled here are not forgotten. Willmar is located where the rolling prairies meet Minnesota’s famous lake country. Agriculture has been a mainstay of our local economy since the latter part of the 1800’s when settlers from Norway and Sweden came here to farm. The city also has become an industrial, medical and educational center. Farming, dairy, poultry and hog raising, and cattle ranching are major agricultural activities. Businesses include food processing and livestock-feed and animal-health products manufacturing. Today’s diversified economy includes a strong retail center, service and health care facilities.
The city maintains 36 parks and offers year-round recreation programs. Among the most well-known parks in the Willmar area is Robbins Island with a new children’s playground. It is located between Foot Lake and Willmar Lake. This island – once a hide-away for settlers retreating from conflicts with native peoples, has much to offer. We have two golf courses to challenge area golfers. The Willmar Civic Center & the Willmar Conference Center host a variety of events.
In 1908 world famous Captain Roald Amundson, the Norwegian explorer who discovered the South Pole came to Willmar for a visit. There was a big celebration on that occasion. Amundson repeated his visit to Willmar in 1913. There is a statue of Roald Amundson in the city square in Tromsø, Norway.
Willmar is a gateway to Minnesota’s “10,000 lakes.” Kandiyohi County contains 360 lakes, each covering ten acres or more, and recreation opportunities are numerous. The 220-mile Glacial Ridge Trail winds through the Kandiyohi County area, following geologic formations created by glacial-movement during the Ice Age. The trail passes several scenic recreation areas and historic sites. The motto for our county is “Where the lakes begin.” We have a strong tourist climate. Our beautiful lakes attract many people for fishing, water sports and relaxation.
takes its name from the chain of lakes that extends through it from southeast to northwest. The name is of Sioux Indian origin, meaning, “Abounding in buffalo fish.” In the early days buffalo fish and other kindred species came up the rivers and small streams to find spawning places in these waters. The Kandiyohi Town site Company was organized in the fall of 1856. Land developers used every means available to attract new settlers to their towns. Eastern and Scandinavian newspapers carried stories and pictures extolling the beautiful and bountiful free land available in Central Minnesota. During the summer of that same year an artist and promoter, E. Whitefield, had traveled through what is now the southern part of Kandiyohi County. He gave names to several of the lakes in the surrounding country, naming Lake Lillian after his wife. He was an accomplished artist and he painted watercolors of the lakes and prairies, sending them to the East Coast to be used for land sale promotion and as works of art. These methods worked. Settlers came by the hundreds. These settlers found that the southern half of the county had rich black loam soil. Farmers raised many kinds of crops in the early years, but today we will see that corn and soybeans are the most popular crop. In the southwest corner of our county, many farmers grow sugar beets. The north half of the county, has scenic rolling hills and lighter soil in its landscape.
In Norway a feeling of unrest was taking place around the year 1860. There was a shortage of land to sustain the large families, the short growing season caused a poor economic condition and several families dissented from the state church of Norway under the leadership of Reverend Johan Andreas Johannessen Bomstad. In 1803 Hans Nilsen Hauge, a great lay Norwegian Evangelist, visited Balsfjord to preach the word of God, which he did from a more free and popular point of view than the State church ministers of that period. Johan’s grandfather was known to be a Haugianer. Many years rolled by before there occurred any noteworthy religious awakening. Johan Andreas Johannessen Bomstad, as far as it is known, was the first layman from the community to start having religious meetings conducted by him. His preaching had such power of attraction that people from neighboring communities of Lyngen, Ullsfjord and Målselv came to hear him. Johan was active in a group formed by Rev. Lammers; they organized a group called, “The Apostolic Free Church.” He organized several groups from Balsfjord, Norway to come to America. After two years of preparation the first group left Balsfjord in 1862. They came aboard the sailing vessel, “Sleipner.” This was the first vessel to sail directly from a European port assigned to Chicago, Illinois. The “Sleipner” was considered to have had “deluxe” steerage in contrast to other sailing ships of the period. Instead of being confined in the bottom of the boat below the cargo, the “Sleipner” immigrants were given the first hold and on fine days, two hatches were opened to show the blue sky. Each family was allotted wide benches upon which they slept four abreast and under which they stowed small gear. They also were allowed to cook two meals a day on the double hearths. Their route took them by Hull, England, on to Quebec, Montreal, the Welland Canal, Detroit and finally arriving at Chicago on Sunday August 2. The voyage took 71 days. They refused to debark the ship on the Sabbath and waited until the next morning to leave the ship. A plaque on the State Street Bridge in Chicago commemorates the first arrival of the “Sleipner.” The Sleipner returned to America with more immigrants from north Norway in 1863, 64 & 65. The party of immigrants bought provisions, gear, carts and oxen, then headed west to find land to settle on. They came to Minnesota, just as the Sioux Indian uprising flared up and during the Civil War. They could only go as far as the Norwegian camp in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was too dangerous to go any further. They remained there for more than a year with many other families from Tromsø, Norway. With no place to go, some of the young men in the party enlisted in the military service of their new country in the fall of 1863. Soldiers were needed for the end of the Civil War and the Indian Uprising. They served in the Second Regiment Minnesota Cavalry, Company “B.” Elias Anderson’s son Andrew Elliason Anderson and three Bomstads, Henrick Johannesson Bomstad, John Adolph Johanson Bomstad and Albert Johannesson Bomstad, went into the Lake Lillian area on some of their patrols. These young men were struck by the beauty of the area and on returning to St. Peter, gave glowing reports of what they considered an ideal location for a future home to the leader of the group, J.A.J. Bomstad. When the nation’s frontier was at last reopened the old gentleman lost no time before investigating. Mounting his little gray mare, and with a gun on his shoulder, he started alone across a wild country, finally reached Lake Lillian and found it to be everything the boys had represented. He decided to locate here at once. This is in May of 1864. As impressed with what he saw as the young scouts had been, he returned to St. Peter to bring his entire party to the Lake Lillian area in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. In June he moved up with his family. The first few months they lived in a dugout located between the Methodist church and the lake. In the fall they had a log cabin finished and moved into it. In the same summer, Elias Anderson, a close friend of Reverend Bomstad, located an adjoining claim. Elias had to return to St. Peter after he selected his claim because he had already rented land in St. Peter. He had to cultivate and harvest the crops before his family could move to Lake Lillian in the fall. Through his religious activity in his native land of Norway he was well and favorably known among those who were first led to dissent from the state church of Norway, particularly was this true of the northern section and in the region surrounding his home near Balsfjord. With hardly an exception, the early Norwegian settlers of the Lake Lillian, Fahlun and Lake Elizabeth townships settled here as a result of their acquaintance with Rev. Bomstad, who may be properly regarded as the father of this large settlement of Norwegian pioneers.
Tidbits--mail was received once a week in the early days, square dancing was a popular event, especially when a new barn was constructed, the music was provided by several local people who were very good on the fiddle, people formed community theater, band and choirs. The early settlers took an active part in local government, started neighborhood schools; they had to be self-sufficient to take care of the needs of their family. It was very important for them to have a place to worship, educate the children and to have some culture.
By the mid 1860’s, the wave of Norwegian immigrants, which began moving westward, had reached west-central Minnesota. Norwegian settlers filed the early homestead claims in 1864 in the townships of Lake Elizabeth, Fahlun, Lake Lillian and East Lake Lillian. Among these people were Christians who longed for the fellowship of other believers.
The church grounds included land for a cemetery, parsonage and stables for horses. Transportation to church in those early days was by horse and buggy or sleigh in the winter.
After the congregation moved to Lake Lillian, the cemetery was named “Tromso Memorial Cemetery.” In the early days the young people from the Oak Park and Lake Lillian Methodist Church Epworth League and the Tromsø Lutheran Luther League exchanged programs for each other and had a time of social fellowship. During this era, your church was the social gathering place. (1999 Reunion Co-Chair, Bob Hookom buried here)
Andrew and Anna were charter members of the Methodist Church in East Lake Lillian Township. Andrew donated a house from one of his farms to be used as a parsonage at the Methodist Church. It was transported across the lake in winter on the ice to the church site.
On the church property there was a horse barn, which housed 8 teams while the owners were at worship. There was another barn, which housed the minister’s horse, cow and chickens and was later used as a garage. Major changes were made to the church building in 1921 when the basement was excavated. The families of Hans Peter Hanson and Hans K. Petterson were active church members, providing leadership and support in all areas. Hilmar Hanson, son of Hans Pete and Kristine Hanson, entered into the ministry after graduating from the Norwegian Danish Theological School at Evanston, Illinois in 1926. He served churches in Montana and Washington before his retirement. The descendants of the Elias Anderson family held a reunion in 1961 at the church. Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Anderson celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary at the church in 1961. Mr. & Mrs. Hans K. Petterson celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary at their home in 1951. Mamie Hanson Vick worked on translating the old Norwegian records for the writing of the church history. The history book was printed in 1966 for the 100 Years of Methodism in the Lake Lillian area and the 75th Anniversary since the incorporation of the church. Some of the important organizations of the church were the Sunday School, Churchwomen and Young People’s Society, which were a vital part of the church’s ministry. Children were presented Bibles as a gift from the Sunday School. For many years the Sunday School sponsored a picnic, which included an outdoor worship service, a dinner and an ice cream treat. On Easter Sunday the children would present a program for their parents. In the evening on December 26, the children and youth would take part in giving plays, recitations, and songs telling the story of our Savior’s birth. The sanctuary was decorated, the children exchanged gifts, and treats and apples were given. An offering was received for missionary work. The Norwegian records show that the first woman’s organization was a sewing circle. Fourth of July picnics for the community were sponsored by the churchwomen until 1953. They served a noon meal and programs were given which included special music and speakers. The women supported missionaries and helped to sustain the church properties and even helped to pay the pastor’s salary. The Young People’s Society was an active group. In early days it included the married folk of the congregation and friends in the community. The group sponsored ice cream socials, basket socials, oyster suppers and concerts in the years preceding, and during World War I. The Methodist church disbanded in 1986. The cemetery is now called East Lake Lillian Cemetery.
Life was difficult for Beate. Shortly after their arrival in the fall of 1864, the cabin they lived in burned. After the fire the family lived in a home between two haystacks for their shelter. This shelter left much to be desired. The cook stove was still usable, but was located outdoors, because of the danger of fire. The oldest daughter, Adrianna, would search through the ashes of the burned shack for cooking utensils and tableware. The flour sack that contained the flour had burned away, but they salvaged as much as they could for making bread, although it had a definite scorched taste. Beate died from malnutrition and pneumonia in 1865. She was the first pioneer woman to die in this community. Elias married for a second time to Gjøyda Owre and they had a daughter, Annie. In the history accounts it tells about an Indian woman who showed Elias how to soak and bend beech wood so he could make a hand reaper with teeth. Elias was a director of the grade school. In January of 1873, there was a terrible three daylong blizzard. He worked unceasingly hard caring for his own oxen and his neighbors also brought their oxen to his shelter. He struggled through the snow and wind to care for these animals. In those days’ oxen were hard to get and they were very important for the survival of the pioneers. Elias had trouble getting enough hay and water. Working under these difficult conditions weakened Elias causing him to get pneumonia. He died at age 49 on February 4, 1873. In less than ten years after their arrival in America, both Elias and Beate had died. Another son of Elias, John S. Anderson farmed near Atwater, Minnesota, his other children moved out of the county.
from “The Old Timers” by Eben E. Lawson.
As a young man who had recently returned from the army, as a cavalryman in Company B, Second Minnesota Regiment, Albert Johnson Bomstad was one of the very first settlers of East Lake Lillian, having filed on a claim in Section 3 in 1865. Even then in frontier days, as now, little Dan Cupid was exercising his wiles, with the result that Albert J. and a neighbor’s girl, Elias Anderson’s daughter, Adriana, plighted their troth. And so, on the day set for the wedding, the bridal couple and their attendants set out in a lumber wagon with oxen for the Village of Greenleaf in Meeker county, where there was a justice of the peace duly authorized by law to marry them. The distance was twenty miles or more, over trackless prairie in most part. When the happy couple came to Thompson Lake in the Town of Cosmos, there stood a big black bear in the way. Now, had this bridal party been crossing a fjord in a rowboat over in Hardanger there would have been a ceremonial master “Baadmann” with a gun. But in this case there was no gun. And luck thus it was, for it would have been a shame to have shot this old bear. Old Bruin simply sat peacefully on his haunches and grinned roguishly as the wedding outfit lumbered by. Even the oxen,
seemed to have sense enough not to make too much fuss, and everything went off smoothly.
Handout for ANDERSON REUNION HERITAGE TOUR -- 2019
Revised June 29 2019
1 Hanson Silo Company, a family business, started in 1916 by Emil Hanson Jr. - present owner grandson; Gregg Hanson is a descendant of Johannes Andersen, son of Anders and his first wife, Marie Birgita Mortensdatter.
2 Pioneers Union Cemetery. Farm at bus turn around was owned by Ethelyde Bomstad Rasmussen, granddaughter of Hemming Anderson. Years ago, Hans Pete Hanson’s daughter, Hannah and August Carlson lived on this farm. Elias Anderson, son of Anders Anderson and his second wife Elen Lavine Andersdatter and many immigrants from Tromsø, Norway are buried here. Dunkert Vick was the first burial in 1869.
3 Tromsø Memorial Cemetery - this was the site of Tromsø Lutheran Church The early homestead claims were filed by Norwegian settlers in 1864 in the townships of Lake Elizabeth, Fahlun, Lake Lillian and East Lake Lillian The beginning work for starting a Norwegian Lutheran Church was started in 1878, (just one year after the grasshopper plague of 1876-77) and the church was built in 1895. The congregation moved to Lake Lillian in 1947 and adopted the name Grace Lutheran Church.
4 Mamie & George Vick farm. Mamie was a daughter of Hans Peter & Kristine Hanson. George was a grandson of an early pioneer John Johnson Vick from Tromsø, who homesteaded this property in 1865. George & Mamie lived on this farm for almost 50 years.
5 Site of Andrew and Anna Anderson’s farm. After Andrew returned from the military service, he married Anna Johanna Hansdatter and bought this farm from George Hart. The farm had unique buildings, a large white house constructed of concrete made from lime stone and an eight-sided barn. Andrew & Anna were charter members of the Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church in East Lake Lillian Township. Andrew donated a house from one of his farms to be used as a parsonage at the church. It was transported across the lake in winter to the church site. Across the road on the lake shore is the site of the “Original” Lake Lillian Creamery built in 1893. Andrew’s son, Bennie Anderson built a store in 1891. Mrs. Christine Johnson built a second store building. There was a blacksmith shop, also. The place became a commercial center of the community. The creamery burned in 1900, and as it was not rebuilt upon the same spot, the future of this little hamlet as a business center was destroyed.
Note the Woods neighborhood in the north east part of the city as we drive on by into the city center.
6 Village of Lake Lillian started in 1923, this site was chosen because of the Luce Line Railroad which later extended west beyond Lake Lillian. Mary Anderson’s white frame house moved in from Old Thorp, second wife of Hemming Anderson & postmistress for Lake Lillian.Around the corner in the Westside neighborhood is a house that was built by Hans K. Petterson and moved into Lake Lillian from Old Thorp in 1923. Alice Petterson Erickson, then 13, remembers the move took two days and that she and her mother Olga walked behind the house during the move and slept in their own beds during the one night on the road. The house has been remodeled and many changes made. Grace Lutheran Church built in 1947 formerly Tromsø Lutheran Free Church. Notice the log cabin in the park, similar to the cabins used by the early pioneers of Lake Lillian. Petterson Electric was started by Hans K. Petterson; he was a self-taught Master Electrician. His son Harvey and grandson Lowell continued with the electrical & hardware business. See Hans K. Petterson’s blacksmith shop. At the east side of the village we see where Hemming Anderson homesteaded farm land in 1871.
The Swede Hill neighborhood is in the southeast corner of the city.
St. Thomas More Catholic Church (now closed), the Lake Lillian School built in 1955. It replaced several country schools. The United Lutheran Church was formed in 2007 from the merger of the mostly Swedish First Lutheran and Norwegian Grace Lutheran congregations.
7 Lake Lillian Community Cemetery has served most families since 1940 although some continue to use the rural cemeteries.
8 Old Thorp site located 2 miles east of Lake Lillian on MN Highway 7. There was a creamery started in 1896 in Section 21, ice house for the creamery, butter maker’s house, E.J. Strom’s grocery store, bank, post office, feed mill, some houses, barns, chicken coops. Hans K. Petterson had a blacksmith shop and garage here. Everything moved in 1923 to the Village of Lake Lillian.
9 Hans Pete Hanson lived on this farm from 1884-1914. He built the house on this farm. In 1914 Hans Pete and Kristine moved a half mile south to the farm known as the “Forty” where they lived until they moved to Minneapolis after retirement. His son, Olaf and family farmed here from 1914-1942 before they went to California.
10 Anton Hanson farm is located east along #7 1½ miles from his brother, Hans Pete Hanson’s farm. Anton had moved away in 1907 to near New England, North Dakota.
11 Hattie (daughter of Hemming & Hannah Anderson) and Peter Oslund farm.
12 Lake Lillian Baptist Church site and cemetery. was organized in 1898. And the church was built the next year. Some of them were former members of the Methodist Church. Adriana Anderson Bomstad, (Mrs. Albert), Lavine (Mrs. Ingebrigt Johnson), Christopher and Bertha Johnson, Soren and Martha Jacobson and Mary Owre Anderson (Hemming Anderson’s second wife) and some of their descendants are buried here. Plus siblings; Josefine Sofie Johnson Haroldson, Ingebrigt & Stromme Johnson.
13 Scandinavian Methodist Episcopal Church site and cemetery. The congregation was organized in 1866, the church built in 1890. Four families constituted the nucleus of this work. They were Elias Anderson, D. Johnson, Bryneld Nelson and Andrew Nelson. Elias homesteaded land in Section 5 & 8, March 8, 1865 south & east of the church. After his death, son Hemming took over the farm. Hemming donated land for the church and cemetery. Hemming’s son, Horace Anderson farmed here, also. The original parsonage was donated by another son of Elias, Andrew Anderson. in May, 1926 Hilmar Hanson, son of Hans Pete and Kristine Hanson, entered into the ministry and served churches in Montana and Washington. Mamie Hanson Vick translated the old Norwegian records for the history book printed in 1966 for the 100 Years of Methodism in the Lake Lillian area and the 75th Anniversary since the incorporation of the church.
14 The east side of the Lake and site of rev J.A.J. Bomstad homestead on NE corner.
15 The unmarked site off to the east on # 83 where Elias Anderson’s wife, Beate Hemmingsdatter was buried as well as a few other early settlers before the Pioneers Union Cemetery was started in 1869. Life was difficult for Beate. Shortly after their arrival the cabin they lived in burned. Beate died from malnutrition and pneumonia in 1865. She was the first pioneer woman to die in this community.
16 The Madsen dairy Farm for lunch and exploration.
17 The Lake Elizabeth Hamlet started with a post office in 1865, a store and creamery were built, and by 1904 it was a budding community with a Baptist Church, creamery, store, feed mill, post office and phone exchange. The creamery building was built in 1917 and is all that remains
