Swedish–American Historical Society
Our Mission
The Swedish–American Historical Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1948, with the mission of recording and interpreting the Swedish presence in America. The society is devoted to the mission of studying the Swedish emigration, its history and culture of the Swedes in North America through research, publications, programs and archives.
In 1983, the Board of Directors approved a change in the organization's name to the Swedish–American Historical Society. By then it had moved well beyond a focus on just the "pioneer" period and serves to promote interest in the entire Swedish presence in America, from the first settlers on the Delaware in 1638 to the present day.
Our History
The Swedish–American Historical Society grew out of the national 1948 Swedish Pioneer Centennial celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Swedish immigrants in the Midwest. In Chicago, 18,000 people filled the stadium on June 4th to hear President Truman, Prince Bertil of Sweden, Carl Sandburg, and representatives from many Swedish–American organizations. Four months later, on October 15, 1948, the leaders of the centennial celebration met in Chicago and formed the Society, originally called the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society.
Fall Lecture October 5th with Julia Bachrach
On October 5th, the SAHS partnered with the Swedish American Museum in Andersonville, Chicago for a dinner and lecture by noted urban planner and historian, Julia Bachrach. Guests enjoyed a social hour and dinner from Tre Kronor Restaurant, Chicago's Nordic Bistro before Bachrach took the microphone to share more about Jens Jensen, a noted Danish-American landscape architect.
Between the Swedish American Museum's exhibition on Marimekko, a Finnish brand which surrounded guests in the Museum's main hall and Bachrach's lecture on a Danish-American, the evening was a Scandinavian celebration to remember.
Jensen not only shaped many of Chicago’s city and regional public parks and forest preserves, but also played a part in preserving the Indiana Dunes sand dune ecosystem. In private practice, he shaped the gardens of large estates throughout the Midwest and as far east as Maine before retiring to establish the Clearing Folk School in Wisconsin where he trained future landscape architects.
About the Speaker:
Julia Bachrach is a historian who previously served as the Chicago Park District’s preservationist planning supervisor for over 25 years. She is the author of several books including The City in a Garden: A History of Chicago’s Parks and Inspired by Nature: The Garfield Park Conservatory and Chicago’s West Side. Her frequent appearances on television and radio include The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago, 10 Parks That Changed America produced by WTTW and Curious City on WBEZ. Bachrach holds a Master’s Degree in Cultural Resource Preservation from the Landscape Architecture Department of the University of Wisconsin.
Celebrating 75 Years
Our Fall 2023 meeting, which took place on October 20th and 21st, celebrated the Society's rich history since its founding in 1948. The theme of the 75th anniversary celebration was "honoring our past, sustaining our future." Society members and friends gathered Friday evening for a dinner and program at Old Orchard Country Club in Mt. Prospect for a program which included music, presentations, and a featured keynote speaker. Saturday afternoon saw an event at the Swedish-American Archives of Greater Chicago at Brandel Library in Chicago. This event featured an exhibition and program that highlighted the Society's work and recognized the longtime relationship with North Park University, the Society’s physical home since the mid-1950s.
Recent Blog Posts
- New Publications News At SAHS September 12, 2024
- Fall Lecture October 5th with Julia Bachrach July 10, 2024
- Lunch & Lecture at Seattle’s Swedish Club Northwest (Thursday, May 9, 2024) March 18, 2024
- Carl Sandburg and the Society October 18, 2023
- When Vilhelm Moberg Flew to Chicago to Address the Society October 11, 2023
Newsletter
Swedish–American Historical Society Books
Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880-1920
By Anita Olson Gustafson. (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2018). Paper, 212 pp. Between 1880 and 1920, emigration from Sweden to Chicago soared, and the city itself grew remarkably. During this time, the Swedish population in the city shifted from … Read More
Conrad Bergendoff’s Faith and Work – A Swedish-American Lutheran, 1895-1997
By Thomas Tredway (Published by the Augustana Historical Society in partnership with the Swedish–American Historical Society, 2013) Cloth, 497 pp. Conrad Bergendoff, a historian, theologian, ecumenist, educator and pastor, served as President of Augustana College from 1935-1962. The author, Thomas … Read More
Letters from the Promised Land: Swedes in America, 1840-1914
By H. Arnold Barton. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1975). Paper, 348 pp. This book contains an extensive collection of letters sent back to Sweden from Swedish immigrants in America during the time period of 1840-1914, telling their impressions of … Read More
Shuttle in Her Hand: A Swedish Immigrant Weaver in America
By Marion Tuttle Marzolf. (Chicago: Swedish-American Historical Society, 2010). Paper, 253 pp. The Society’s first historical novel tells the story of Lisa Lindholm, a single Swedish woman who emigrated to America in 1931 and her roles in Swedish and Swedish–American … Read More
Zorn in America: A Swedish Impressionist of the Gilded Age
By William and Willow Hagans. (Chicago: Swedish–American Historical Society, 2009). Cloth, 390 pp. Anders Zorn (1860-1920), the famous Swedish artist, made seven trips to the USA. This book, complete with over 140 of his well-known paintings, etchings, and photographs, tells … Read More
I Go to America: Swedish–American Women and the Life of Mina Anderson
By Joy K. Lintelman. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009). Cloth, 294 pp. This book, winner of the prestigious Minnesota Book Award (non-fiction), uses the life of Mina Anderson to describe much about the lives of Swedish–American immigrant women … Read More
Sacred Migrations: Borderlands of Community & Faith, Essays in Honor of Philip J. Anderson
Edited by Hauna Ondrey and Mark Safstrom, this Festschrift is a tribute for Philip. J. Anderson, longtime professor of church history at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, and president of the Swedish-American Historical Society for the past thirty years. … Read More
Swedish Recipes Old and New
By American Daughters of Sweden. (Chicago: American Daughters of Sweden, 1955; 21st Printing, 2008). Paper, 180 pp. A collection of classic recipes for Swedish and Swedish–American foods.
Scandinavians in the State House: How Nordic Immigrants Shaped Minnesota Politics
Klas Bergman (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2017). Paper, 310 pp. Beginning in the 1850s, thousands of immigrants from Nordic countries settled in Minnesota and quickly established themselves in the political life of their new home. These Norwegians, Swedes, … Read More
Swedish-American Borderlands: New Histories of Transatlantic Relations
Edited by Dag Blanck and Adam Hjorthén. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2021). Paper, 352 pp. Studies of Swedish American history and identity have largely been confined to separate disciplines, such as history, literature, or politics. Swedish–American Borderlands, edited by … Read More
Donation to The Philip J. Anderson Publications Endowment
The Swedish-American Historical Society seeks to raise at least $250,000 in additional funding to create the Philip J. Anderson Publications Endowment, building on the amount already pledged toward this goal. Income from the endowment will be used to supplement the … Read More
Clio’s Abode in Swedish America: Essays from the Journal of the Swedish-American Historical Society
Clio’s Abode in Swedish America consists of twenty-five articles previously published in the Swedish-American Historical Quarterly or its predecessor, the Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly. Intended to help celebrate the Society’s 75th anniversary, as well as to commemorate the transition of … Read More