Andrew and Dorothea Hansen homesteaded in Dakota Territory, west of the present site of Litchville in 1882. They were the first settlers in what was to become Rosebud township – Southeast of Section 28. The only other family in the area was the Ingvart Brox family who had come shortly before.
Andrew Hansen was born in Langland, Denmark in 1847. He came to the U.S. as a young man of 21, working at mines near Superior, Wisconsin, for a time; then began farming at Grand Meadow, Minnesota. In 1875 he married Dorothea Clausen Rasmussen at Austin, Minnesota. They moved to the Kindred area in 1881, but continued on west the following year because of discouragingly wet fields. They traveled in company with the Ottes family, another pioneer family of the area. Upon arrival at their claim here, they camped around wagons until they were able to build a sod shanty. A few sheep, cattle and horses were driven along on the journey.
Six children were born to this couple, one of whom died in infancy. The others were: Annie, (Mrs. Peder Knudsen); Lawrence; James; Mary (Mrs. John Linn) and Alfred who continued to live on the home claim until his death.
Sanborn was the closest trade center and a buying trip often took three days by oxen and cart. The children eagerly looked forward to the father coming home with a treasured pail of syrup. Mrs. Hansen was a noted midwife of the prairie, whose trusty horse and buggy carried her to many a pioneer home to deliver babies. Coming here several years later to form a small Danish settlement were the Christianson, Petersen and Nelsen families. A small building located on Section 22 (now Clarence Verduin's land) was built to serve as a church and school. The building was later moved to Litchville where it became a residence. In 1908 the Hansens bought a small house in Litchville where they resided until shortly before their deaths. Dorothea died in 1924 and Andrew died in 1928. They are buried in the St. Thomas cemetery northwest of Litchville.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 91