Norse Seventh Day Adventist Church
Norse, Bosque County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Norwegian immigrants moved to Bosque County when it was organized by the Texas legislature in 1854. Most came to Norwegian settlement, which was later named Norse. Two Evangelical Lutheran Churches, our Savior’s Lutheran and St. Olaf’s Kirke, served the people’s spiritual needs. Ole T. Nystel and his family moved to the area in 1866. In 1867, he was captured by Comanche Indians near his home at age 14, and lived with them for three months. After being ransomed and returned, he was confirmed into the Lutheran Church. After A. W. Jensen, a Danish Seventh Day Adventist Evangelist, visited the area in 1880, Nystel was baptized into the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He and other converts organized the Norse S. D. A. Church on Feb. 23, 1880. The first meeting was held Jan. 10, 1881. Members built a small frame church on an acre of land out of the Thomas A. Graves survey, which J. O. Olsen deeded on Sep. 13, 1886, to the church’s general conference at Battle Creek, Michigan. On Apr. 23, 1904, A. E. Anderson deeded one-fifth of an acre to the general conference as a burial ground for church members. Among those interred are ole T. Nystel, his wife, Annie (Anderson), their son, Oscar, who died as a missionary in New Mexico in 1918, and their grandson, Walter Thomas Nystel, a marine killed in World War iiII. The current structure replaced the first sanctuary and was dedicated on Mar. 8, 1913 by Elder Field and Elder Miller. Today it is the oldest standing Seventh Day Adventist Church in Texas. The congregation included a Sabbath School and made yearly offerings to missions as far away as Japan and korea. The last regular services held were Dec. 31, 1927. The congregation has held an annual homecoming since 1983.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Norwegian immigrants settled this corner of Bosque County after 1854, and most worshipped in the community's Lutheran churches. That changed after young Ole T. Nystel—captured by Comanches in 1867 at age fourteen and held three months before being ransomed—was later baptized a Seventh-day Adventist and helped organize this congregation in 1880. Its 1913 building is the oldest standing Seventh-day Adventist church in Texas, and the adjoining ground holds Nystel, his family, and a grandson killed as a Marine in World War II.
Why it matters
This church weaves together Norwegian immigration, the violence of the Indian frontier, and the spread of a distinctly American religious movement into one small Texas settlement.
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Related people
- · Ole T. Nystel
- · A. W. Jensen
Related events
- · Comanche captivity of Ole Nystel
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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