Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad. 1907. McCook County Andreas Larson from Texe, Stavanger Amt and John, Christian and Luther Larson, who came from Crawford Co., Wis. and settled in the vicinity of Bridgewater in 1875, were the first Norwegian settlers in this county. Later in the year came pharmacist A. Wettergren, who was also from the Stavanger area. Stationmaster E. L. Hunskaar from Bergen was the first in Spencer City and its area. He writes, "I have also tried the new settler life even though it was different than what the others had to undergo. It was in 1887 when I received a friendly request from the operations manager to take over the command of this station. He told me in a polite tone, even if the railroad still had not gotten that far and there were no station buildings here, that until later I should arrange things as best I could without a home or neighbours and without means of communication other than the work trains. A boxcar was provided for my use. It then did service as a warehouse, office, kitchen and bedroom. I understood that I had arrived at the outermost limits of civilisation. There were, furthermore, neither civilised nor uncivilised people nearby. There were only a couple of claim shanties a few miles away. But I was there as civilisation's herald and had to be tolerant for a while (even thou! gh it was often terribly cold , lonesome and dreary). After the rail line was completed, neighbours also came and it is now good to live here. It is long since I threw my office furniture (a pair of rough packing boxes) out the door" There is a Norwegian church in the vicinity of Bridgewater. The congregation belongs to The United Church.