Swedish Crosses Cemetery     Pony Express Station     Sod House Museum

     Oregon Trail   Veteran's War Memorial 

Gothenburg is a beautiful town with lovely homes and tree-lined streets. There are two Pony Express stations, a sod house museum, and a lake located in the north part of town. Sand volleyball and frisbee golf are attractions at Lake Helen in the summer. During the winter, sledding and ice skating are popular. Gothenburg is fortunate to have other attractions for tourists and local citizens.  Brochures are available at the Pony Express Station in Ehmen Park for self-guided walking tours of historic homes and buildings. The City offers a summer recreation program. Information regarding summer recreation may be obtained by calling Gothenburg City Offices at (308) 537-3668. Other information on specific activities can be obtained from the Gothenburg Chamber of Commerce at (308) 537-3505 or 1-800-482-5520.

Swedish Crosses Cemetery

These unusual and artistic grave markers, wrought in Swedish steel by a loving grandfather, mark three children's graves--making a small corner of Dawson County "forever Sweden."

For over a century, three unique crosses have been a lasting symbol of the Swedish heritage of Gothenburg. Located two miles north and two miles west of town, the Swedish Crosses Cemetery is one of Dawson County's historic sites. A Nebraska Historical Marker was dedicated in August 1991.

In the early 1880's, Peter and Anna Berg, along with Anna's parents, the Benjamin Palms, came to Gothenburg from Helsingland, Sweden. Tragedy struck the Bergs on their prairie homestead when their first child, Singne Ester, died July 21, 1885, four months after her birth. Carl Alfred, their second child, died at the age of three months on September 14, 1886. Gustav Andrew, two years old, died August 19, 1889. The three children were buried on a knoll near the family farm.

Markers for the graves were made in a traditional Swedish style by the children's grandfather, Benjamin A. Palm. Mr. Palm was Gothenburg's first blacksmith. He is reported to have sent to Sweden for some of the steel with which he fashioned the crosses. The distinctive crosses, complete with elaborate scrollwork, hearts and stars, each carry a Swedish inscription of the children's names and their dates of birth and death. The Bergs were blessed with four more children after the first three died.

A wrought iron fence forged by Mr. Palm to protect the graves has long since disappeared. The late Harry Williams of Gothenburg began an effort to preserve the cemetery in the 1960s. With the aid of an anonymous donor and the Historical Trails Committee, a chain link fence was erected in 1967.

Although the crosses have stood for over 100 years, several mysteries remain. The initials A. G. on one of the graves stands for Andrew Gustav, but the family remembers he was called Gustav. What was the order of his formal name? On the back of Singne's cross, the word Havilar is etched.  Many tombstones and crosses in Sweden have this inscription.  It translates to "Here Rests".  The other two crosses, the initials "H. W." Do these initials mean the same?  What was the cause of death? Was there an epidemic in the late 1800's?  It is also believed several neighboring children caught in a prairie fire are buried here without markers. What stories whisper among the graves of these pioneer children?

Community volunteers maintain the cemetery to keep this bit of Gothenburg's pioneer history alive.

Pony Express Station                                                                    FREE ADMISSION                                        

Of the few Pony Express Stations remaining in existence, two are located in Gothenburg. The Pony Express Station in Gothenburg's Ehmen Park is a main attraction for tourists. Displays of items used by our forefathers are kept in the station. This station was moved and relocated from the Upper 96 Ranch where it was originally used by the Pony Express riders and as a stage stop. Early in 1931, Mrs. C. A. Williams, realizing its historic value, donated this building to the Gothenburg American Legion, who dismantled it and rebuilt it in Ehmen Park. It was dedicated to the memory of the Pony Express Riders and the pioneers of the Old West.  The museum has been open to the public since the early 1950s.  Hours are 8 am to 8 pm in summer months and 9 am to 6 pm in May and September.  

The second Pony Express station still stands on its original location on the Oregon Trail at the Lower 96 Ranch four miles south of Gothenburg. Protected by a second roof, it retains its original form and is part of the privately owned ranch. It is open to visitors on a limited basis.

Sod House Museum

The award-winning Sod House Museum was established in Gothenburg in 1988.  The  museum stands next to a full-scale replica of an authentic sod house, the type that  was used extensively by early settlers in the Central Plains Region. This memorial to the first settlers in  the area features a barn, sod house, windmills and life-sized barbed wire sculptures. The barn-shaped museum houses memorabilia and photographs taken during the pioneer era. A huge plow graces the front yard of the museum area, representing one of the few tools settlers brought west.  

Oregon Trail

As a result of the activities of the Oregon Trail Memorial Association, 60 plaques were erected along the entire route of the Pony Express, which is identical with the old Oregon Trail and California Trails. The Oregon Trail marker is located south of Gothenburg.

Veteran's War Memorial

Located on the west shore of Lake Helen in Gothenburg, this memorial

is a reminder of sacrifices made during all wars by veterans and their families.

 The names listed commemorate local residents who gave their lives.

The plaque also contains the following message:

Some Gave All

If you are able,

save for them a place inside of you

and save one backward glance when you are leaving

for the places they can no longer go.

Be not ashamed to say you loved them,

though you may or may not have always.

Take what they have left

and what they have taught you with their dying

and keep it with your own.

And in that time

when men decide and feel safe to call war insane,

take one moment to embrace 

those gentle heroes you left behind.

Major Michael Davis O'Donnell