NELSON

NAME: Nelson COUNTY: Douglas ROADS: 2WD GRID: 3 CLIMATE: Snow in Winter, warm Summers BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime

COMMENTS: Five miles East of Alexandria. People still living there. REMAINS: School and other buildings.

Oddly, the village of Nelson was first named Dent, after Richard Dent who had settled in Alexandria in 1868. The village was founded in the mid 1870s when S.J. Miller bought the land on which the town was built and platted into lots. A man by the name of Star was its first mechant and served as postmaster until May of 1881, at which time the name was changed to Nelson in honor of Senator Knute Nelson of Douglas County. At this time there was a depot for the Great Northern Railway, and a Post Office. As the town grew many businesses were established, including: an Auto Repair Shop, a Bank (1907), a Lumber Yard, a Meat Market, a Department Store, an Elevator, a Flour and Feed Mill, a Hotel and Restrurant, a Potato House, a Pump Repair and Supplies Store, a Telephone Company and a church. The village had a concert band of 22 pieces, and two fraternal organizations; the Knights of Maccabees, and the Ladies of the Maccabees. A branch of the Womens Christian Temperance Union erected a building in 1913 which gained a great deal of notice because it was the only one of its kind. The school, a brick building and model of its kind, employed 4 teachers and had an average of 110 students. With the passing of time, the school closed and the students were bused to Alexandria, the Great Northern Depot closed down along with the Post Office and other businesses. It was still known for some wild Saturday nights in the late 1950s, but today Nelson is a quiet place with with a few local residents, a restrurant and place to wash down the road dust. Submitted by: Duane V. Peterson

Nelson Courtesy Duane Peterson

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