Petersen, Dagmar, M.D.

Dr. Dagmar Petersen was born at Hornsburg, near Akron, Colorado, to Jens Peter Petersen and Manna Trina Andersen, both natives of Denmark. Her father worked as a prominent educator in Denmark before taking up agriculture in Colorado and relocating to a ranch near Selma, California, in 1909. After attending public grammar and high schools in Colorado, Miss Dagmar moved to California in 1907 to pursue a medical career. She matriculated in the Los Angeles branch department of the University of California Medical School and graduated with the class of 1911. She then gained practical experience as an intern at the Childrens Hospital in San Francisco during the winter of 1911 and 1912.

Following her internship, Dr. Petersen began general medical practice at Patterson in Stanislaus County, where she worked alongside Dr. Hammer for one year. She later practiced at Arbuckle for a year and a half before moving her office to Selma in April 1915. Establishing her practice in Rooms 9 and 10 of the Dusaw Building, she specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of women and children diseases. Belonging to a distinguished family of educators, military veterans, and nurses, she successfully built a lucrative practice and earned a reputation for useful service in Fresno County.