Nysted was named for a town in Denmark, where most of the residents had once lived. The surrounding area is high in danish culture and ethnicity. The post office for Nysted was established on April 12, 1883. By 1890, it had already hit is peak population of 65. The post office was discontinued on September 30, 1918. Mail is now served from nearby Dannebrog, "The Danish Capital of Nebraska."
The gravel roads and cornfields haven't changed much in the last 100 years. There are a few old brick buildings still standing in Nysted. There is a nearby cemetary to the south, an old Danish Folk School (1887), an old brick church (1887) and other remnantsand buildings.
Kronborg has never had a post office, mail has always been served from nearby Marquette. At the intersection where Kronborg sits, there is a big stone and wrought iron sign reading, "Kronborg Korner." This sign has probably been here for over 100 years. There is also an old schoolhouse, a few old buildings, a spooky old two story house, an really eerie old church in the middle of an old pioneer graveyard (1800's) with some real big headstones. This is a REALLY spooky place at night.
To get to Kronborg, start in Aurora. Take Highway 14 north for 9 miles. When you get to the turnoff for Marquette (to the west 1 mile), take a right and head east 3 miles. Kronborg sits at this intersection.
To get to Nysted, start in Dannebrog. Go north about one or two miles and take a left (west) and go three miles to Nysted.
On Easter Sunday, April 13, 1883, with no warning at all, raging winds rolled in swiftly. The temperatures started to drop rapidly. Then the sky turned dark and the clouds started dumping snow at an alarming rate never before seen by the newly settled pioneers. So much snow came down in such a short period of time (many feet in a matter of a day or two). You literally could not see three feet in front of you. The temperatures dropped so fast and froze many things very quickly.
People were running out of fuel in their houses to keep them warm. After all, it was spring. Many ventured out into the blizzard to find more firewood, most of which was stacked next to the house or barn. Many people became lost in the fierce, piercing winds and swirling snow. The winds and snow where constantly changing direction, confusing many people who ventured out into it. The snow and winds didn't let up for two days. Once the snow finally stopped, search parties were now sent out to find the missing. Nearly everyone lost in the blizzard was later found, dead and frozen stiff. Many of the people were just a short distance from shelter, but they could not see a thing. People who survived this blizzard would be much wiser when The School Children's Blizzard hit in 1888.
In the 1800's, in Aurora NE., a woman was accused of being a witch. It was readily believed to be true, and she was burned at the stake or hanged (don't remember which). Before she died, she swore to get revenge on those responsible for her demise. She said nobody would be able to keep her in the grave and she would come back and haunt all of the townspeople.
After she died, she was buried at the far corner of the cemetary with a big headstone to remind everyone about the dangers of witchcraft. Four iron poles were put at the corners of her grave. Chains were strung between and across them. The next day, someone noticed that the chains were broken. Everyone felt a little uneasy now. The chains were fixed. A few days later they were broken again. Today, they just hang there, not connected across the top of the grave anymore.
At the intersection of Highway 14 and Highway 30 in Aurora, there is a park with a cemetary just to the north.. Go north past the park and turn left on the gravel road next to the cemetary. Witch's grave is in the far northwest corner.
