A Danish-American Colony in South Mississippi
The Granly Story
In 1929 the Jackson County Commercial Club, Lampton Realty (who handled cut-over timber lands for the local lumber company owners), Hans Madsen, banker from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the Illinois Central Railroad placed advertisements in Danish immigrant newspapers advertising the cheap farm land in Jackson County, Miss. It was advertised as fertile cut-over land that was ready for the farmer -- fruit and nut growers, truck farmers, dairy farmers, poultry farmers, etc. The land was then sold in the name of the Granly Investment Corporation. Families bought acreage in 5 to 40 acre pieces.
Rev. Knude Knudsen, a retired pastor purchased some land and donated five acres to the colony so that a church and school could be built. The forsamlingshus (meeting house) was completed in 1936 and was used for church services, monthly birthday celebrations, folk dancing, gymnastics, bible school, Sunday school, weddings, funerals and the annual Christmas celebration.
The families who purchased property in Mississippi, came from states such as Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana and Nebraska. They began arriving in December 1930.
The Dust Bowl and the Depression, with banks failing, and the traumatic loss of crops and stock was the reason that these families decided to answer the advertisements and seek a new life in the South. For example, the Askov, Minnesota families were suddenly destitute and sold their stock to the butchers and the land was so dry they could not plow.
Another Danish-American, a bachelor, was having a hard time in Chicago where jobs were scarce as the banks failed. He had always wanted to own a dairy, so he and his sister, a nurse in New Orleans, purchased 40 acres so he could have a dairy.
A Nebraska family was really destitute. They sold all their furniture and most of their clothes, linens, etc. and between two families they found an old truck and 14 people and all their belongings made the trip to Mississippi. The three men were carpenters and they spent a year living in the Gibson barn at Hurley, and found work as carpenters in Pascagoula. They eventually moved to nearby Moss Point, purchasing homes there, but remained part of the Granly family.
The farms were successful, raising crops for market, selling pecans and oranges, raising bulbs and flowers for St. Louis and Chicago markets and selling Grade A milk. The dairy men forced Mississippi to grade the milk so they could sell in Mobile. There were several successful poultry farms and egg farms as well. Many of the men were able to go to work at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula after it was built in 1940, but continued to farm as well. They were hired as painters and carpenters.
An educated colony of people, the Danish lust for learning was prominent. They were all able to read and write and taught themselves English. They had a small library in the forsamlingshus and swapped books. There were seven valedictorians and many salutatorians and honor graduates from Moss Point High School. Seventeen of the young men and women from Granly volunteered for the American forces during World War II and most went on to college afterwards.
After the death of Rev. Knudsen in 1936, church services were held every fifth Sunday, with visiting ministers from Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas and Minnesota. Sunday school was held every week and Bible School every summer. Each month there was a celebration for all who had a birthday that month. There was music and dancing, plenty of food and the forsamlingshus rocked. Gunnar Knudsen held gymnastics for the young folks from 1932 to 1943. The Mardi Gras Day for the Danes was called Fastalaven and there was always as celebration. A Christmas Eve service was held every December 24. The families then had their own celebrations at home that night.
December 26 was Little Christmas and the Granly community celebrated together with a live Christmas tree, decorated with Danish handmade ornaments. Food was plentiful and the special dancing around the tree was the most exciting time of the year. Participants would circle around the tree, holding hands, and singing Christmas carols, such as Jingle Bells and the classic Danish, “Nu Hav a Jul Agen.”
The community was very active until about 1956. Many of the older folks were dying and most of the younger generation had gone to colleges across the U.S. and had jobs in other states. The church services continued until 1970. The forsamlingshus was now vacant. A few local families continued to cut the grass and keep the cemetery clean.
Rebirth of the Colony
In 1984, the forsamlingshus and Granly property was under the care of the Christus Victor Lutheran Church of Ocean Springs. They had used it for a few years for youth retreats, but had decided to sell the property and use the funds for their building fund.
That was not to be. Else Martin, born into the colony in 1936 and still living locally, sought to find the actual owners of the property and to find a way to preserve it. She consulted the Lutheran Church of American property management department in Atlanta and learned that the five acres could not be sold, except by them. They suggested that she organize a non-profit organization, develop a Mississippi State charter, constitution and by-laws and the LCA would donate the church to that non-profit. And that is what happened.
As of 1985, the Granly Danish Historical Foundation, Inc. was established. The property is now preserved and there is now a Perpetual Care Fund for that preservation.