Letters from Normandy drew Norwegian families toward Brownsboro

Johan Reinert Reiersen came to Texas looking for a place where Norwegian families could settle. In 1845, he returned with his family and other settlers to land near present-day Brownsboro. They called the colony Normandy.

Reiersen wrote about Texas for readers in Norway. His letters helped the small settlement become part of a larger migration story. Families later spread into other Texas communities.

A historical marker near State Highway 31 and FM 314 keeps the place on the map. The colony did not grow into a large city, but its written invitation traveled much farther than its first cabins.