History
Gothenburg, Nebraska is named after Gothenburg, Sweden and is noted for its Swedish heritage. Gothenburg, Nebraska, and Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg), Sweden, are believed to be the only two cities named Gothenburg in the world.
Gothenburg was founded in 1882 by Olof Bergstrom, a native of Hassela, in Gävleborg County, Sweden. After coming to America from Sweden in 1881, Bergstrom worked for a time on the Union Pacific Railroad, then homesteaded in Dawson County near Gothenburg. He eventually became a land agent for the UP. Bergstrom selected the site that was to become Gothenburg and located a farmstead about a mile north. The Union Pacific Railroad laid out the original town of eight blocks parallel to the railroad tracks. Bergstrom made several return trips to Sweden to lead groups of settlers to Dawson County.
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“[Men say:] “Don’t you know that we are your natural protectors?” But what is a woman afraid of on a lonely road after dark? The bears and wolves are all gone; there is nothing to be afraid of now but our natural protectors.”
—Frances A. Griffin, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 19, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)