Swedish Crosses Cemetery

The Swedish settlement the plaque describes gathered around a town a Swede chose. Olof Bergström came from Sweden in 1881, worked for the Union Pacific, homesteaded in Dawson County and became a land agent for the railroad. He picked the site of Gothenburg, founded in 1882 and named for Gothenburg, Sweden, and set his own farmstead about a mile north, while the Union Pacific laid out the first eight blocks along the tracks. Bergström went back to Sweden several times to lead settlers here. The Palm crosses are wrought iron.

What the plaque says

Swedish Crosses Cemetery One of the many Swedish settlements in Nebraska during the late nineteenth century was north of Gothenburg in northwestern Dawson County. An enduring symbol of this settlement is the Swedish Crosses Cemetery, where three children of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Berg are buried. These unique grave markers were made in a traditional Swedish style between 1885 and 1889 by the children's grandfather, Benjamin Palm. Mr. Palm was the first blacksmith in Gothenburg. Dawson County Historical Society Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Etna — 12 mi
• Road Ranches Along the Platte — 14 mi
• The 100th Meridian — 14 mi
• Fort McPherson and North Platte — 14 mi