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Larson Furniture and Undertaking
1908 - 1916

It was 1908 and the future town of Mobridge, South Dakota, was being platted in preparation for building the Milwaukee Road railroad bridge across the Missouri River. The railroad crews building the new bridge sent telegraph messages that ended with "M.O. bridge," consequently, naming the city.

Picture from Milwest (Milwaukee Road Historical Society)

Lars Larson purchased two lots and opened Larson Furniture and Undertaking.  It was a new career for this Norwegian homesteader who had arrived in the Mobridge area with his wife, Hannah, in 1889.  That year they rode the train from Denver to the end of the tracks and joined many other Norwegian immigrants who were homesteading on the Dakota prairie.  Apparently, he was a successful homesteader because he purchased additional land, raised eight children, and then started his retail and service businesses.

Many people wonder why furniture and funeral businesses often went hand-in-hand.  Until quite recently, it was a logical combination.  The companies that manufactured furniture also manufactured caskets.  The horses and wagons used to deliver furniture could also be used for funerals.  Lars took pride in his matched black horses and shiny hearse coach.  Since his store sold cribs, he was able to advertise, “We serve you from cradle to grave”…in Norwegian, of course.

Lars died in 1916, leaving the business to his oldest sons, Lenny and Martin.  Eventually, four brothers were in the furniture/mortuary business:  Martin in Mobridge, John in Rapid City, South Dakota, Lenny in Glenwood, Minnesota, and Edwin in Kenyon, Minnesota.

Experience a prairie experience at the Sanborn Sod House on the Prairie.

Click on pictures to see larger images of Larson's Mobridge store

Lars Larson opens his Mobridge store in 1908

The oldest sons of Lars, Martin and Lenny, pose in this 1918 picture

Click here to view chapter 2 of the Larson family history

last modified on February 3, 2012