Colony Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Colony Cemetery, out in Bee County. Now settle in, because this is a story about folks who came a long way to put down roots in Texas soil, and how, eventually, that soil came to hold them too. Several Norwegian farmers and their families began immigrating to this area starting in 1894.

Their settlement took on a name that suited it just fine: Norwegian Colony. Or, if you were in a hurry, just the Colony. Simple.

Direct. Norwegian. Now, a community that intends to stay puts up certain things.

A church, maybe. A school. And, when the time comes, a cemetery.

That time came in April of 1897, when Colony residents gathered to establish both a cemetery and a cemetery association. Here's where the story gets a little tender. Three graves already existed, quiet and waiting, on a corner of Hans Thompson's property.

Hans looked at those graves, and then he looked at his neighbors, and he offered to donate an acre of his land for the burial ground. That offer was accepted. Then O.R.

Peterson got to work, drawing up a plan for the site, dividing it into four blocks of equal size. The fourth block was set aside as open ground, single graves available to anyone who needed one. Lewis Travland, Hans Thompson, and Barney Olson stepped up as the association's first officers.

The association had it in mind that the cemetery would serve those of Scandinavian descent. But in the beginning, others were allowed into that fourth block. That practice was discontinued when it became clear that space was limited.

And speaking of the beginning, the marker tells us exactly who those first three burials were. Hans Thompson's son, Carl, who died in January of 1896. Barney Olson's son, also named Barney, who died in August of 1896.

And Telda Travland, who died in April of 1897. Three young lives, three families already bound together by more than just prairie and proximity. The two earliest birth dates recorded anywhere in that cemetery belong to Nels Thompson, born in 1810, and Gertrude Hanson, born in 1826.

Think about that. People born that far back, resting now in Bee County, Texas. Veterans are buried there too, men who served in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and both World Wars.

And the names of settler families run through that burial ground like roots through good soil: Thompson, Travland, Selgelid, Kingsted, Nelson, Olson, Beck, Berkeland, Mickelsen, Torgerson, Lovell, and Sivley. Today, Colony Cemetery is designated a Historic Texas Cemetery, a designation it received in 2002. And what it holds is more than the departed.

It holds the whole arc of a community, from that first brave crossing, to those early graves on the corner of a man's land, to the generations that followed. It is, as the marker puts it, a link to the original Scandinavian families and their contributions to the community's rich history. Some links, once forged, just don't break.

What the marker says

Several Norwegian farmers and their families immigrated to this area beginning in 1894. Their settlement became known as Norwegian Colony or, simply, the Colony. In April 1897, Colony residents met to establish a cemetery and a cemetery association. Because three earlier graves were on a corner of Hans Thompson's property, he offered to donate an acre for the burial ground. His offer was accepted, and O.R. Peterson created a plan for the site, dividing it into four blocks of equal size. The fourth block was established as an open area for single graves available to anyone. Lewis Travland, Hans Thompson and Barney Olson became the association's first officers. Although the association wanted the burial ground reserved for those of Scandinavian descent, many others were initially allowed in the fourth block. This practice was discontinued when it became clear there was limited space. The first three burials are those of Hans Thompson's son, Carl (d. January 1896), Barney Olson's son, Barney (d. August 1896), and Telda Travland (d. April 1897). The two earliest birth dates noted in the cemetery are those of Nels Thompson (b. 1810) and Gertrude Hanson (b. 1826). Veterans of the Civil War, Spanish-American War and both World Wars are also buried here. The names of settler families and their descendants can be found throughout the burial ground, including Thompson, Travland, Selgelid, Kingsted, Nelson, Olson, Beck, Berkeland, Mickelsen, Torgerson, Lovell and Sivley. Today, Colony Cemetery, designated a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2002, is a link to the original Scandinavian families and their contributions to the community's rich history. (2004)