Dane Town “is a Danish settlement that tells about the
well known Danish ability as farmers.” This
translation of the 1903 pamphlet Norwegian
Settlements and Congregations, fails in modesty to describe a community now
marked by only a cemetery.
Dane Town dates around 1872. Bernard Nelson noted his grandparents
purchased 40 acres in Becker Township.
This marks the beginning of Dane Town.
Although never incorporated in Sherburne County, Dane
Town briefly maintained many of the institutions that hint towards
permanence. A church had not been built,
but a congregation of Danish Lutherans were well established. In the early history the congregation was led
by a Pastor Ingebrigtsen.
In addition to the religious congregation, a school
had been established and a Danish newspaper published. A newspaper, The Daylight was edited and printed at the Rasmus Jensen
farm. Virginia Johnson, in a four page
essay remembering her life in Dane Town described “school days like a little
family. Our school was heated by wood. The wood shed was a favorite place to act out
plays during recess. The bleachers were
piled up wood.”
In all likelihood, transportation led to the demise of
Dane Town. With improving roads, more
farmers began to move into Becker, Palmer and Santiago. In the end, only the cemetery remained to
mark Dane Town.
In her essay, Virginia Johnson summed it up, “I
remember Dane Town as a safe place to live with neighbors who were honest and
helpful.”
A
few residents of Dane Town. Photos from
the SHC collections 2007.040
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