The Swedish-American Historical Society was founded in Chicago in October 1948, originally named the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society. The Society was an out-growth of the nation-wide Swedish Pioneer Centennial held that same year.
Swedish Pioneer Centennial
The genesis of the 1948 Swedish Pioneer Centennial was an effort to honor the Swedish immigrants and their descendants who began arriving in the American Midwest in the 1840s. New Sweden, Iowa (1845), Bishop Hill, Illinois (1846), Swede Point, (Madrid), Iowa (1846) were among the earliest Swedish settlements in the Midwest. The organizing committee hired an energetic former Navy lieutenant and diplomat, Nils William Olsson, as the centennial’s executive director.
The kickoff event for the Swedish Pioneer Centennial was a gathering on 4 June 1948 at the Chicago Stadium. An audience estimated at 18,000 to 20,000 Swedish Americans gathered to hear a number of speakers, including U.S. President Harry Truman and well-known author and poet Carl Sandburg. Swedish Crown Prince Bertil also attended the centennial events. At one point at the Chicago Stadium gathering, Truman turned to one of the organizers, Vilas Johnson, and said, “You have Swedes packed everywhere in this building except on the rafters,” adding, “Scrubbed and clean–typical of the Swedes.”
The President spoke at 9 p.m., following the hour and a half program. Mr. Truman was followed by Crown Prince Bertil, who, in turn, was followed by Carl Sandburg, who spoke until 1:15 in the morning of his boyhood and later life.
The centennial celebration encompassed 20 cities in nine states (primarily in the Midwest) before it ended June 30 in New York. Among the impressive accomplishments of Nils William Olsson for the centennial was the issuance of a five-cent commemorative stamp by the U.S. Postal Service, bearing the image of a covered wagon.
Swedish Pioneer Historical Society
An historical society had been a goal of centennial celebration leaders almost from the beginning. In May, a month before the actual centennial events, Conrad Bergendoff and Vilas Johnson expressed this resolve in association Newsletter No. 5:
“The first two of the three purposes of the Swedish Pioneer Centennial being in process of fulfillment (to honor the Swedish Pioneers and to make known the accomplishments of Swedes to American life during the past century), we direct our attention to the third purpose–writing the history of our first hundred years in the midwest…. We are not deterred by the fact that this is a long-term project…. June of 1948 will long be remembered as the Centennial Month, but we propose to make October of 1948 equally memorable….”
The Swedish-American Historical Society dates from two meetings held on 15 October 1948 at the old Swedish Club of Chicago.
That day, fourteen leaders of the Swedish Pioneer Centennial Association gathered at the club, 1258 N. LaSalle St., for a 4 p.m. meeting and, following dinner, an 8 p.m. meeting of the Chicago committee attended by 115 members. At these meetings, the Chicago committee was dissolved as of Dec. 31 and its assets turned over to the centennial association, which was to be reconstituted as an historical society with no immediate change in name. “We must not stop now,” Conrad Bergendoff, chairman of the national association, declared at the evening meeting. The assets of the Chicago group, $10,433.04, were sufficient to pay off the debts of the national body and provide a start-up fund for the new historical society.
The perpetuation of the association, Johnson said at the October meeting, should be on the basis of contributions. Three classes of membership were proposed, life at $250, sustaining at $10 and annual at $3. Enrollment cards were passed out and 70 persons signed up, the first members of the new society. At the end of the meeting, an executive board of twelve was named, plus five regional vice presidents. The board, in turn, elected six officers: Vilas Johnson, chairman of the Chicago committee, president; Conrad Bergendoff, president of Augustana College, managing editor; Nils Testor and Stig Wiren, vice presidents; Nils William Olsson, secretary; and C.G. Carlfelt, treasurer.
As mentioned above, the Society was initially named the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society and has continued to remain headquartered in Chicago ever since. In 1983, the Society’s name was changed to the Swedish-American Historical Society.
Of note, the keynote speaker at the 75th Anniversary gala on 20 October 2023 is Adam Hjorthén. His 2018 book, Cross-Border Commemorations: Celebrating Swedish Settlement in America, extensively researches the 1948 Swedish Pioneer Centennial. His keynote address, “Dining with Friends: A History of Swedish-American Commemorations,” will deal with the importance of such celebrations.