The Nickerson Home
309 5th Ave NW
This home was built in 1918 and deeded to Dr. and Mrs. Bernard S. Nickerson the same year. Dr. Nickerson, along with his wife and son, came from Minnesota to Mandan in 1912 when Dr. John Staley, Chief Surgeon at the then Mandan Hospital, beseeched him to fill the position he was vacating. Dr. Nickerson saw the new position as an appealing challenge, with two hospitals just across the river with claims of providing excellent care. Within two months of the initial contact, Dr. Nickerson and his family moved to Mandan.
He soon became associated with Dr. Altnow, the Northern Pacific Doctor, as a supporting Northern Pacific Surgeon and General Practitioner. Dr. Nickerson volunteered for war service if needed. When the call came, he was trained at Fort Riley and New Orleans. He was sent abroad to France and Germany for two years as a captain. On his return to Mandan, he resumed his practice in medicine.
Dr. Nickerson was born in 1876 and passed in 1946. He was very active in the community and loved gardening. Evelyn, his wife, continued to live in the home and remained active in the community even after her husband passed. Evelyn served on the Board of Education for 12 years, as President of Custer District Health Unit for 22 years, and on the Public Library Board for 24 years. She was also involved in various other church, club, and community organizations. She remained in their home until her death.
Kenneth, Dr. Nickerson’s son, was a World War II veteran. He married Frances McLean, and they moved to New Mexico where he was an Agent for the Government Counter Intelligence Service. He died suddenly of pneumonia in 1950 and was returned to Mandan for burial in the Union Cemetery near his father.
Draft transcription from the photographed sign; it has not yet received a second review.