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Nelson Olsen Nelson correspondence and articles, 1891-1991
- Title
- Nelson Olsen Nelson correspondence and articles, 1891-1991
- Identifier
- P1598
- Date
- 1891-1991
- Creator
- Nelson, Nelson Olsen
- Description
- According to Jon Wefald (A voice of protest, NAHA, 1971, p. 14), Nelson "was one of the most interesting Norwegian figures in the world of American industry." Born in Aust-Agder fylke, he immigrated with his family first to Texas, then to St. Joseph (Buchanan co.) Missouri. (Naeseth, 1847:487) He grew up on his father's farm, and a 165 enlisted in the Union army, advancing to second lieutenant in the regular army by the end of the war. After working in St. Louis for a year, he returned to St. Joseph. From 1870 to 1872 he lived in Hiawatha, Kansas, but then returned to St. Louis and 1877 founded the N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Co., which became on e of American's largest building and supply corporations. "He set up a cooperative industry controlled by employees and consumers, and 1886 introduced a profit-sharing plan." He established a "model industrial village" in Leclaire, Illinois. "In 1915 Nelson turned over 50 grocery stores, 3 meat markets, a condiment factory, a large dairy plant, and a truck farm to his employees." He spent his last years in Los Angeles, disillusioned because his innovations did not inspire worker to rise above material things. See article on Nelson in Dictionary of American Biography, v. 13 (1934).
Includes:
- Several communications by Nelson, to teachers, to associates; reprint of article from The Exponent on the Leclaire idea; articles from newspapers, 1922-1935; article "Leclaire, Illinois: a model industrial village" by Carl S. Lossau (Gateway Heritage; quarterly magazine of the Missouri Historical Society, Spring1988, pp. 20-31); article "Nelson Oliver Nelson: His vision of utopia" by June Grayson (Sons of Norway Viking, Jan. 1991, pp. 6-9); obituary (2 p. typescript) issued by the N.O. Nelson Mfg. Co.; Letters written 1891-1921 to "My dear cousin" (Grethe Christensen).
- Added November 2010: Books “Images of America: Leclaire [Edwardsville, Illinois]” by Cindy Reinhardt (Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2010); and A History of the Cooperative Village of Leclaire [Edwardsville, Illinois]” prepared by the, Bob Blain, Editor (Leclaire Centennial Committee, Edwardsville, Illinois, 1997).
- Extent
- 3 folders
- Type
- Correspondence
- Book
Citation
Nelson, Nelson Olsen, “Nelson Olsen Nelson correspondence and articles, 1891-1991,” Norwegian-American Historical Association, accessed September 20, 2024, https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/catalog/items/show/10884.