The Elk Horn, Iowa, school was the first Danish
folk school in America, founded in 1878. It served as a magnet
for Danish immigrants, drawing them to Elk Horn in great numbers.
Historian P.S. Vig estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 Danish
men and women studied at the school before fanning out across
the area and the globe.
In 1894, Pastor Kristian Anker, then owner and principal of
the Elk Horn Højskole, sold it to the newly formed Danish
Lutheran Church in North America for use as a seminary and
college. When that organization — known as the North
Church — merged with the Danish Lutheran Church Association — or “Blair
Church” — in 1896, and because the United Evangelical
Lutheran Church, the seminary was consolidated with Trinity
Seminary in Blair.
That same year, the college-level prepartory classes that
had been offered in Blair were consolidated with those offered
at Elk Horn College. In 1899, leaders of the United Church
voted to relocate all college-level classes to the Blair campus.
In 1903, delegates to the annual convention of the Church voted
to name the schools of the synod “Dana College” and “Trinity
Seminary.”
After classes were moved to Blair, residents of Elk Horn continued
to operate Elk Horn College, but enrollment slowly declined.
The school’s last classes were held in 1917. During the
39 years of its existence, the primary identity of the school
remained Danish, but through its various reorganizations, it
bore testimony to the processes of acculturation.
The exhibit and lecture are located in the upper-level lounge
of the library. The exhibit is sponsored by, and includes materials
from, the Danish Immigrant Museum, Dana’s Danish Immigrant
Archive and the C.A. Dana-LIFE Library. The public is warmly
invited to view the exhibit.
Dana College is a place where all students make things happen — in
their own lives and in the lives of others. Through a highly
supportive faculty and campus community, Dana students develop
interpersonal skills, leadership abilities, and other important
values and knowledge as they make choices about their future.
Dana’s outstanding academic programs in business, education
and social work, among others, ensure that students have the
knowledge, skills and experience necessary to pursue challenging
careers or placement in graduate school.
Dana College is a private, liberal arts institution in Blair,
Neb. To learn more, visit www.dana.edu.
Dana College: Develop talents, Take charge, Build a future — We’re
with you all the way.
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For more information contact:
Sarah Cavanah
Communications Coordinator
Dana College
(402) 426-7216
scavanah@dana.edu
scavanah@dana.edu
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