Norse, Texas

Norse, Texas
Norse, Texas
Unincorporated Community
	The St. Olaf Kirke, commonly referred to as the Old Rock Church, is a small Lutheran church located outside of Cranfills Gap, Texas, in an unincorporated rural community known as Norse, Texas.
	Norse, Texas Norse, Texas
	Coordinates: 31°45′22″N97°40′53″W / 31.7559896°N 97.6812771°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Bosque
Elevation	885.8 ft (270.0 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	76634
Area code	254

Last updated July 28, 2023

Norse is an unincorporated community in Bosque County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 110 in 2000.

History

Norse started as a Norwegian settlement, arriving in 1845 and being swept away by the malaria epidemic in nearby Kaufman and Henderson counties in 1853. It is thought to be named for either Cleng Peerson, who started Norwegian immigration to America and suggested this area to other people, or Nicholas Hanson, a Fort Graham soldier who directed a Norwegian reconnaissance to this area. They identified the landscape as being similar to that of eastern Norway. The first settlers included families surnamed Questad, Ringness, and Grimland, settling in the area that next year. More Norwegian settlers homesteaded along the Meridian, Gray, and Turkey Creek areas. Norse was then born with the establishment of a few shops and other scattered buildings for social life. A Lutheran church named Our Savior's Lutheran Church was established in 1878. A post office was established at Norse in 1880 and remained in operation until 1929. The Norse Mutual Fire Insurance Company was established in the mid-1880s. It was a nonprofit, shared-risk organization that was so successful that its directors were forced to limit membership to families living within 20 miles of the community. It continued operation until 1984. Norse's decline began when paved roads were built in the community, causing economic growth in other cities nearby. The descendants of the first settlers continued to gather at the church in the mid-1980s, making it the only public building in the community. Smörgåsbords would be held in Norse every November since 1949. King Olav V visited the church to honor Peerson's success in bringing people to the area in 1982; Peerson is buried in the community's cemetery. Its population was 100 in 1980 and gained ten more residents at the end of the decade into 2000.^[1] Its population remained at 110 in 2010 and was the largest and most successful Norwegian community in Texas. The cemetery has a notable marker with pictures of the first settlers.^[2]

One of the stores in the community was owned and operated by Thomas Theodore Colwick, who sold perfume, toiletries, and medicines.^[3]

Norwegian settler Berger Rogstad is also buried in the community's cemetery.^[4]

Geography

Norse is located on Texas Farm to Market Road 182, 40 mi (64 km) west of Waco,^[1]10 miles (16 km) west of Clifton, and 15 mi (24 km) east of Cranfills Gap in southwestern Bosque County.^[2]

Education

A school made of rock was used for religious services until the Lutheran church was established in 1878. It closed sometime after 1929.^[1] Norse is served by the Clifton Independent School District.

Notable Person

Arnold Wilson Cowen, United States Court Judge, was born in Norse.^[5]

Related Research Articles

Bosque County is a county located in the greater Waco area. The county sits just NW of Waco in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,235. Its county seat is Meridian, while Clifton is the largest city and the cultural/financial center of the county. The county is named for the Bosque River, which runs through the center of the county north to south. The Brazos River makes up the eastern border along with the Lake Whitney reservoir it feeds.

Clifton is the largest city in Bosque County, in Central Texas in the United States. The city's population was 3,442 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranfills Gap, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Cranfills Gap is a city located in Bosque County in central Texas, United States. It was founded by Norwegian Emigrants and to this day most residents can trace their lineage to those Norwegian Founders. The population was 281 at the 2010 census.

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Norwegian Americans are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans, according to the 2021 U.S. census,; most live in the Upper Midwest and on the West Coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleng Peerson</span>

Cleng Peerson was a Norwegian emigrant to the United States; his voyage in 1824 was the precursor for the boat load of 52 Norwegian emigrants in the following year. That boat load was a precursor for the main wave of Norwegian immigration to the United States.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Olaf Kirke</span>

St. Olaf Kirke, commonly referred to as The Rock Church, is a small Lutheran church located outside of Cranfills Gap, Texas, United States, in an unincorporated rural community known as Norse in Bosque County, Texas. The Church is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Our Savior's Lutheran Church, is a Lutheran church located near the cities of Clifton and Cranfills Gap in the unincorporated community of Norse in Bosque County, Texas.

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References

1 2 3 Norse, TX from the Handbook of Texas Online
1 2 "Norse Texas". www.texasescapes.com.
↑ Cox, Mike. "Runaway Scrapes". Texas Escapes. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
↑ Cox, Mike. "Rogstads of Bosque County". Texas Escapes. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
↑ Arnold Wilson Cowen at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges , a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center .

v t e Municipalities and communities of Bosque County, Texas, United States
County seat: Meridian
Cities	Clifton Cranfills Gap Iredell Meridian Morgan Valley Mills‡ Walnut Springs	Bosque County map
CDPs	Kopperl Laguna Park Mosheim
Other communities	Cayote Cedar Shores Eulogy Lakeside Village Norse Smith Bend Womack
Ghost towns	Brazos Point Greenock Pendell Rock Springs
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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