Peter Nissen, the Inventor of the Nissen Hut, was born in the USA in on the 6th August 1871. He attended Trinity College, North Carolina leaving in 1891. In 1896 he went to the mining school at Queens University Kingston. Peter Nissen was born in the USA in on the 6th August 1871. He attended Trinity College, North Carolina leaving in 1891. In 1896 he went to the mining …
Stories
Georg Nissen Biography
Georg Hermanus Nissen was brought up in Norway in a ship building family based in Bergen. As was normal in their period, the second and later sons were obliged to emigrate as there was not enough to keep them in Norway. He was the father of Colonel Peter Norman Nissen 1871-1930, who was the inventor of the Nissen Hut. Georg emigrated to the USA in 1857 (aged 25). He left a …
Inherited Tools
This is the story of Georg Hermanus Nissen’s tools and the tool chest that we have inherited. I believe that he gave his tools to his son (Peter) when he travelled to the UK. Georg himself died in 1913 at the age of 81, so he had no further use for his tools by 1910 when Peter Nissen left the USA. In any family where working with your hands is part of the tradition, family tools would …
What’s in the Chest?
We have inherited Georg Nissen's tool chest as it has been handed down through the family. The chest we have seems too small for a craftsman of the time, but it is a tool chest as it has the turn buttons for the saws (disappeared) and the sliding tote which is typical of the time. The chest is 29 ½ ins long x 15 ½ ins wide x 12 ins deep / 75 cm x 39.5 cm x 30 cm. Using these tools …