In 1909, a series of ‘excursions’ to Hansford County resulted in the establishment of a Norwegian colony made up primarily of families who had originally immigrated from Norway to Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Northern Great Plains States. They were interested in gaining additional land holdings for sons and grandsons who would carry on the traditions of farming, as well as the language, social and religious customs from ‘the old country’.
The effort to develop Norwegian colonies in Texas was spearheaded by Anders L. Mordt, an immigrant from Norway who had previously brought settlers to North Central Texas and to the Oklahoma Territory. Mordt knew that in order to create a successful townsite, he had to do some preliminary planning.
In 1904 he began to develop a community he called Oslo, in honor of the ancient capital of Norway. He built a school near the center of the proposed settlement, designated 40 acres of property for the United Norwegian Lutheran Church, and provided a salary for a Lutheran minister. He then ran extensive ads in Norwegian language newspapers, and produced thousands of flyers and booklets inviting Norwegian families to meet him in either Chicago or Kansas City, and to travel by rail to Guymon. They would then be transported by wagon 12 miles to Hansford County to view the opportunity of a lifetime – farm ground that could be purchased for $6.00 an acre. The advertisements touted the community life, the school, the church activities, and an average rainfall in Hansford County of nearly 25 inches, most of it falling during the growing season.
The first group of buyers arrived in 1909, in time to plant spring crops which did well at harvest time. Word spread through more newspaper ads and national church newsletters, and more immigrants took the road to Hansford County, Texas. The community built a new church, established a Norwegian language newspaper, and held an annual Norwegian heritage celebration.
But a prolonged drought, beginning in 1913, began to shake the foundations of the project. Mordt became embroiled in legal battles concerning the truthfulness of his promotions of Oslo, and though many settlers were staunch supporters and published statements of belief in the Anders Mordt Land Company, sales began to falter.
Mordt eventually gave up on the dream of an Oslo town site, closed the land company, sold his fine home in Guymon, and took the train to Chicago. The failure of the Denver and Gulf Railroad to build a line through the area only helped to seal the fate of the Oslo settlement.
The families who remained formed a rural community that retained much of its ethnic character well into the 1930’s. But the establishment of schools and towns in the area and the improvements in highway travel caused a gradual assimilation of the community known as ‘the Oslo Settlement’.
Thanks to the Hansford County Historical Commission for contributing material for this story, including “A New Oslo On The Plains”, by Dr. Peter L. Petersen. For High Plains Public Radio, I’m Michael Ladd in Waka, Texas.
