Home > United States of America > Minnesota > Clay County > Oakport Township > Fridhem Swedish Cemetery

Fridhem Swedish Cemetery

Memorials	:	0
Location	:	Oakport Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate	:	46.9763985, -96.7981033
Description	:	To contact the Fridhem Swedish Cemetery Association, please email them at [email protected] The association maintains burial records, cemetery map, and a history of the Fridhem Swedish Church and Cemetery among other things, and gladly helps those pursuing these records for genealogical purposes. According to most sources, the Fridhem Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in 1898 or 1899, with one source stating it was organized in 1892. The name is of Swedish origin, is pronounced "Freed-hem" and it means, "Home of Peace." For the majority of its existence, it was in a two-point parish with the Elim... Read More	To contact the Fridhem Swedish Cemetery Association, please email them at [email protected] The association maintains burial records, cemetery map, and a history of the Fridhem Swedish Church and Cemetery among other things, and gladly helps those pursuing these records for genealogical purposes. According to most sources, the Fridhem Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in 1898 or 1899, with one source stating it was organized in 1892. The name is of Swedish origin, is pronounced "Freed-hem" and it means, "Home of Peace." For the majority of its existence, it was in a two-point parish with the Elim Swedish Lutheran Church of Fargo and services were conducted exclusively in Swedish. The majority of church members were Swedish immigrants and residents of Oakport and Kragnes Townships, Clay County, Minn. Around the time it was organized, a frame church was erected in the NE¼ of the NE¼ of Section 1 West, Oakport Township on a 295' X 295' square, two-acre lot, donated by Peter and Johanna Nelson on February 13, 1902. In recent years, the square has become a 0.74 acre rectangle as much of the original property on the west side has been subject to cultivation (land around three sides of the property is farmed). A cemetery was organized and platted on the east side of the church property around 1903. Darwen Larson was likely the first burial in the cemetery in March, 1903. As he was later re-interred in nearby Oak Mound Cemetery, Agne Beckstrom is now the oldest known original burial in the cemetery and was buried in September, 1903. Although Nils Frisk's stone is the oldest in the cemetery, he and Nels Peterson, who has the second oldest grave marker, were re-interred at Fridhem from Riverside Cemetery in Moorhead, on November 18, 1905. There are several unmarked graves in the cemetery, including Edwin Nelson, a Mrs. Anderson (the sister of Frans Rehn), Anna and Clifford Frisk, Inga Jensen, and likely several others, with a current total of about 31 burials. The continued use of the Swedish language in the church eventually caused dissension within the congregation. Consequently, several families left the church and joined the nearby Oak Mound Congregational Church, which was 1½ miles northeast of Fridhem. This church was founded by English immigrants, so the explicit use of the English language was appealing to those who left Fridhem. Sources vary as to the year the Fridhem Church closed. One source says 1917, but baptisms were recorded in the minister's log as late as 1924. Oak Mound Church recorded a large influx of transfers from Fridhem in 1922, which implies that the church more than likely permanently closed this year. By the time of the church's closure, services were being held only once a month, according to a few sources. Following the church's closing, an auction sale was held. The church barn was sawed in half and sold to Julius Anderson and Ole Erickson, both of Kragnes Township. The Anderson half was standing until about 2018. The church building was sold to Albert Swanson of Kragnes Township and moved to his farm in 1932 where it was used as a granary until 2003. It is also still standing, although all interior furnishings have been stripped. Most former Fridhem families joined the nearby Oak Mound Congregational Church. About four graves from the Fridhem Swedish Cemetery were re-interred in Oak Mound Cemetery as well. Katie (Zimmerman) Beckstrom was the most recent burial in the cemetery in October, 1993. Elim Lutheran Church cared for the church/cemetery property until June 17, 1971 when the church turned it over to Morris Nelson, a great-nephew of Peter and Johanna Nelson, who had originally donated the land to the Fridhem Church. Roy Richards, a neighbor, also mowed the property for several years and his grandson continued to for a while after. Over the years, the cemetery has fallen into states of neglect from time to time. In 2003, the local Oak Mound 4-H Club cleaned up the cemetery on Memorial Day for their Community Pride Project for the year. The cemetery has since been cared for consistently by members of the community. On July 8, 2020, five members of the community gathered at the North Buffalo Lutheran Church in Kragnes Township and through their mutual interest in the preservation and maintenance of the Fridhem Swedish Cemetery, they organized the "Fridhem Swedish Cemetery Association" and held an organizational meeting. The first board of trustees consisted of those five charter members, who included Alex Swanson, President; Paul Fossum, Vice President; Annette Montplaisir, Secretary; David Swanson, Treasurer; and Nancy Valenzuela, Actuary.

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Fridhem Swedish Cemetery is located at Oakport Township, Clay County ,Minnesota ,USA.
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Latitude: 46.9763985
Longitude: -96.7981033

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Nearby Cemetories:

1. Oak Mound Cemetery
Kragnes Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9906120, -96.7945080

2. Cass County Cemetery #2
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Coordinate: 46.9272200, -96.7789000

3. Cass County Cemetery #3
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4. Cass County Cemetery #1
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5. Osterdalen Lutheran Church Cemetery
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6. Beth El Cemetery
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7. Fargo Hebrew Congregation Cemetery
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8. Springvale Cemetery
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9. Holy Cross Cemetery
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Coordinate: 46.9192276, -96.8095093

10. North Buffalo Cemetery
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Coordinate: 47.0210400, -96.7424300

11. Oakwood Cemetery
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Coordinate: 46.9911003, -96.8953018

12. Saint Stephens Episcopal Memorial Garden
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13. Messiah Lutheran Church Columbarium
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Coordinate: 46.9059640, -96.7772130

14. Riverside Cemetery
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Coordinate: 46.9062653, -96.7609711

15. Saint Joseph's Cemetery
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Coordinate: 46.9063988, -96.7592010

16. Sheyenne Pioneer Cemetery
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Coordinate: 46.9493332, -96.9035797

17. Lower Maple River Cemetery
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Coordinate: 46.9693985, -96.9244003

18. First Lutheran Church Memorial Chapel Columbarium
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Coordinate: 46.8827254, -96.7867111

19. Concordia Cemetery
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Coordinate: 46.9630820, -96.6602370

20. Leif Erikson Cemetery
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Coordinate: 46.9496000, -96.6599000

21. Fargo National Cemetery
Raymond Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9358900, -96.9345400

22. Maple Sheyenne Cemetery
Raymond Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9353333, -96.9362335

23. Wild Rose Cemetery
Georgetown, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 47.0793580, -96.8045710

24. Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery
Moorhead, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 46.8720350, -96.7689620

Fridhem Swedish Cemetery

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