THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE BIRTH OF
JOHAN REINERT REIERSON

             It would be fitting for all Norwegian-Texans to take some time on April 17^th to observe the birth date of Johan Reinert Reierson who, in 1845, established the first Norwegian settlement in Texas.

            Reierson had been the editor of a newspaper in Christiansand, Norway, in which he became an advocate for emigration to America for Norwegians who were seeking better opportunities in life. In 1843 he toured the American frontier from Wisconsin to Texas in search of suitable places to settle. He returned to Norway and authored the 1844 book “Veiviser...” (Pathfinder) in which he described the various  areas that he inspected. The last of the eleven chapters was dedicated to Texas. Reierson refrained from stating his preference about the best place to settle, but his preference was clearly demonstrated in 1845 when he and a few followers established a settlement in Henderson County  in the area of the present-day town of Brownsboro. In 1848 Reierson established a second settlement located astride the Kaufman-Van Zandt County line.

            Reierson was born in 1810 in Vestre Moland Parish near Arendal in the Southern part of Norway. Of the 103 Norwegians listed in the 1850 Texas census almost all were from Southern Norway and followers of Reierson. By 1853 three more large groups had arrived in Texas in ships that departed from Arendal which increased the number of followers to about 300.

            Reierson died in 1864 in East Texas. His grave in the Four Mile Prairie Lutheran Church Cemetery in Van Zandt County is marked by a historical marker. Although he did not live in Bosque County, his influence in the establishment of the Bosque settlement is noteworthy. Of the eight families that moved to Bosque County in 1854, six were from Reierson's East Texas settlements. Eventually the Bosque County settlement grew to become the largest Norwegian settlement in the South.

            Reierson's widow, Ouline Orbeck Reierson (1829-1919) moved to Bosque County after his death and she is buried in Our Savior's Lutheran Church Cemetery. His son, Christian (1842-1910), spent his last years in Bosque County and is buried in Our Savior's Cemetery. Reierson's brother, Jens Lassen Reierson (1820-1894), moved to Bosque County in the 1860s and reared a family on a farm near the Rock Church where he is buried. Even though his family surname has disappeared, Jens still has descendants living in Bosque County.