Stromsburg - The Swede Capital of Nebraska

Andreas's 1882 history found Stromsburg a town of about two hundred at the end of the railroad's line, where, it said, the Swedish people had their stronghold. The station agent was Albert Nance, a cousin of Governor Nance, and his figures for the year showed 427 cars forwarded, led by 129 of wheat, 107 of corn and 69 of hogs, with 52 cars of broom corn. Broom making was a growing industry, and broom corn was counted a sure crop. A branch of the Osceola Bank, owned by Mickey, Nance and Morrill, did the town's banking.

What the plaque says

Stromsburg The Swede Capital of Nebraska The site for Stromsburg was selected in 1870 by Lewis Headstrom, member of a townsite company from Galva, Illinois. In 1872 the town was platted and named "Stromsburg," the last syllable of Headstrom's name plus "burg," which in Swedish means "village on the hill." Headstrom built the first house and store. Busi- nesses were built around a central square reserved for a city park. In 1879 Stromsburg welcomed the Omaha and Republican Railroad, acquired by the Union Pacific in 1898. After a fire in 1887 destroyed most businesses on the west side of the square, a volunteer fire department was organized. A standpipe was erected in 1889. When the population reached 1,000 in 1888, Stromsburg was incorporated as a second class city with Lewis Headstrom as mayor. In 1912 Buckley Park, a gift from Mr. and Mrs. John Buckley, became a part of the town. Many of Stromsburg's citizens trace their ancestry to Sweden. In 1966 Governor Frank Morrison declared the town the "Swede Capital of Nebraska." Stromsburg's centennial celebration in 1972 and annual Swedish Festival illustrates its Swedish pride and heritage. Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Genoa U.S. Indian School Museum — 24 mi
  The surviving trades building of a federal boarding school that ran from 1884 to 1934 on the Pawnee Nation's last Nebraska land, where at least 86 children died and the cemetery is still lost.

More markers nearby

• Osceola and The Early Pioneers: 1867-1967 — 5.9 mi
• Village of Polk — 9.9 mi
• Village of Shelby — 11 mi
• Nebraska 4-H Clubs Began in York County — 15 mi