Stacy Vancas, researcher and author.

Andrew Rosander was born March 14, 1848 in Upsolau, Sweden. He grew to be six foot tall, and back then, that was good sized. At the age of 21 he immigrated to Chicago in 1869, via St. John, Newfoundland. He hauled lumber and worked for the railroad until he got to Deadwood in 1878, in the middle of the Gold Rush days. Along the way he also had worked for the railroad in Garden City, Kansas, and Sidney, Nebraska.

Deadwood was a booming town. The hills were very steep. Driving a loaded wagon downhill was dangerous. The weight of the wagon and the slant of the hill would make the wagon travel fast and out of control. So people would take a log and tie it in front of the wagon`s wheels to slow it down so the wagon wouldn`t run over the team. The wheels would then jam against the log creating drag. The team could then safely drag the loaded wagon to the bottom of the hill. The log was then tossed beside the road onto a growing pile of dead wood. That`s how Deadwood got its name.

While Andrew was hauling lumber he used to look across the valley to the plains beyond. He longed for a day when he would get to that unclaimed land. He decided that he wasn`t meant to be a cowboy or a miner and he should do something else. He began saving money and as soon as he got enough money for a team and buggy, he started out for that unclaimed land. He went first to the Belle Fourche River, and from there to Cottonwood Creek. This is where he built his dugout.

To build his dugout, Andrew first dug a 10ft. by 20 ft. hole in the side of the riverbank. He put poles across the top of it, and then covered that with mud so the dirt could not sift through. Then he put dirt on top of that. This dugout was very damp inside. It was not only Andrew`s home, but also was his business. Andrew applied for a permit to establish a post office in his dugout. He also had a general store in it.

Andrew dug an artesian well as a source of soft water and charged people one cent per gallon or five cents for two pails. Andrew kept the well house locked. People made sure they didn`t spill the water because town was two blocks away.

Andrew also used to make charcoal. To make charcoal he burned wood until it was almost consumed. Then he would kill the fire by pouring water on it. When these charred pieces of wood were lit again, they very quickly became hot coals.

He also did a lot of other tasks while he was in Vale. He hauled merchandise by team and buggy from the northern Black Hills. He started a store and catered to cowboy and rancher trade. During the construction of Orman Dam, in 1905, he hauled oats to the workers` horses.

Andrew also started a store in Pierre. He would walk to Pierre. . . taking a horse was too much of a bother. A horse had to be fed and watered along the way and had to have a place to sleep. So instead of taking his horse, he would put a couple of sandwiches in his pocket and start walking. Walking that distance alone, he had things to worry about. It was a very dangerous journey across land that was occupied by bears and snakes, but he was a brave man.

On March 6, 1883 Andrew applied for and received a land permit. He then wrote to his sister Betty saying he needed help homesteading his new land. Betty agreed to come. Andrew took his team and buggy to meet her at Dickinson, ND, where he got his supplies. When he got to the train station, he was surprised to discover that Betty had brought two girls with her, their cousin Minnie and a friend Maria Broberg. These three girls were very civilized and used to the beautiful country in Sweden. Now, here they were in this land of few trees. It was quite a change for them. By the time Andrew had loaded his supplies, the three girls` baggage, the buggy was full. It had no room for passengers, so they had no choice but to walk. As they were walking back to Vale, the girls were whining because they didn`t want to walk. They also refused to cook over an open fire. They had to have a stove. Charcoal in a pit was just too messy. When they got to Vale and saw that Andrew lived in a dugout, they refused to stay there. It was too dirty. So Andrew had to take Minnie and Betty to the city of Deadwood. Maria was placed in the home of George Topliff on Whitewood Creek to be their hired girl. Maria grew very homesick because she couldn`t speak English and had no one to talk to. The only one who could speak Swedish was Andrew. The Topliff family invited Andrew out to visit with her to try to make her feel at home. So Andrew started to go to see her every Sunday. Eventually a romance flared up and they fell in love. She went to work for him at the store. They got married in 1884. In 1885 Andrew moved to a two-story house that had been built by Doc Collins and Peter Fredlund. On the ground floor of this house were their living quarters, a general store, and a post office. On the second floor there were sleeping quarters for the travelers, a lodge, dance floor, and a church.

In 1887 Andrew and Maria had their first child, Oscar. They later had two daughters who died in infancy, and then three more children were born to them in this house: Andrew, Benjamin, and Annie. When Maria was pregnant with their fifth child, she went to Pierre with Andrew. While they were in East Pierre, they had their child. Because he was born in East Pierre, they named him Pierre but called him Pete. After that they had one more child, a daughter Mae. She was born in Vale.

In 1886 Andrew applied for a water right from the state to irrigate his farm. He surveyed and dug a ditch down on his place on Whitewood Creek. He also put in a water wheel to grind wheat. He built dams on Whitewood and Cottonwood Creeks. He later built a hydro-powered flour mill on Whitewood Creek. In 1889 he organized an Independent Irrigation District with other farmers.

In 1889 he leased the store and the post office in Vale to George Tyndall and then moved his family to Pierre. He started a store in East Pierre. In 1905 Andrew returned to Vale and had the town surveyed and platted. He named the main street ``Rosander`` and then he named the side streets after his children: ``Oscar``, ``Andrew``, ``Benjamin``, ``Annie``, ``Pierre``, and ``Mae``. The Plat was then recorded in the Register of Deeds Office in Butte County. Andrew was the first County Commissioner from the Vale District.

Oscar Rosander was born January 22, 1887. He married Florence Lyke and they had 5 children: Eldon Glen, Elwin Oscar (died at the age of two), Elva Gertrude, Elna Florence, and Judge Elrae. Oscar and his family lived in Isabel, SD, for several years and he raised his family there. When they retired, they moved to Spearfish, SD, where they spent their last years. Oscar passed away March 26, 1974. Florence died August 16, 1981. Son Eldon lived in Rapid City. His daughter Gloria Lyons lives in Rapid City and his son Larry Rosander lives in Wolback, N.E. Daughter Elva married Arnold Bell. They had one son, Howard. Arnold died in 1984. Elva lives in Belle Fourche. Daughter Florence married Harley Reyman. They had two children, Dean and Norma. Florence and Harley live in Belle Fourche. Son Judge and his wife Lois live in Nisland, SD. They have one boy and a girl.

Andrew Rosander was born February 2, 1889. He married Amy Beals, a second cousin of Bert Beals. They had two children: Bernita who lives in Portland, Oregon, and Duane who died at he age of 12. Amy passed away in Michigan in 1940. Andy died on July 26, 1961 at his home in Vale. He lived in Vale his whole life.

Benjamin Rosander was born March 7, 1891. He married Florence Krugler. They lived in Montana for several years. They had 7 children: Verald, Donald, Phyllis,

Alta Mae, Helen, Faye, and Jack. Benjamin passed away in June 1960 and Florence passed away June 13, 1987.

Annie Rosander was born March 10, 1894. She married Howard Gardner in Montana and they later moved to Portland, Oregon. They had three children: Ralph, Jimmy, and Lola. Lola died as a young bride. Ralph and Jimmy live in Portland. Annie later married Claude Bartley in Portland. He passed away in 1981. Annie died March 6, 1986.

Pierre ``Pete`` Rosander was born November 16, 1896. When he was a teenager they didn`t have things to do so they made their own entertainment. Ethel Baldwin, who also lived in Vale, and who was much younger than Pete, would go for walks. This particular day Ethel and her friend were walking along when a young man on a horse came galloping up the street. Ethel threw a barrel hoop and tripped his horse. This was the first encounter with Pete, she had never met him before.

Ethel then worked up in the Adam`s house in Deadwood, and in other various places. Ethel married Pete March 14, 1925. They had one son, Richard Allen Rosander (Dick Rosander). They lived in Sturgis where Pete was working for Dale Tribby at the Chevrolet Garage selling cars, and threshing machines. Ethel remembers one particular time when she got on the train to go to Kansas. When the train stopped at Mohana, she asked the conductor if there was time to eat before the train took off. The conductor said that there was plenty of time. So she sent Dick and a girls to go downtown and get something to eat. Just as they got off, the train started to take off. She stood up on that train and yelled, ``we can`t leave, I have two children down there!`` The train continued moving. When she met Pete, Pete asked here where Dick was and she told him that she lost him. Dick and the girl kept their tickets with them and so they just took the next bus and then met their parents.

In 1939, Pete and Ethel moved to Belle Fourche where they worked for the Belle Fourche Live Stock Yard. Ethel worked for the county for several years and was elected to office as the Register of Deeds in 1946. She worked in that office until retiring in December, 1972. Dick married Cleo Eddy. They had four boys and one girl: Jon, Brick, Lane, Timothy, and D`Anna. Jon lives in Spearfish. He has three children. Brick died in 1989. His wife Bonnie and their son Ivan Pierre live in Belle Fourche. Lane now lives with his wife Melody in Idaho. Timothy and his wife Teri live in Pittsburgh, CA. And D`Anna married Dean Bettner and has one daughter, Darby and they live in Spearfish.

Mae Rosander was born January 19, 1898. She lived in Montana for a while with her mother, who had moved there after their father died. Then she moved to Portland to be with her sister Annie and family. She was married to Mr. Rowley. She died January 9, 1981.

Andrew Rosander was a very hard working, brilliant, brave, and a strong man. He worked all his life and now has something to show for it, he is responsible for the town of Vale. Andrew passed away December 10, 1910 at his home in Vale. He was buried at Beals Cemetery west of Vale. Maria passed away in January of 1942 and is buried in Portland, Oregon.