BACKTRACKING
The Galesburg Land Company
by Terry Hogan
Many of us know at least a bit about Bishop Hill, the
Swedish religious community that was established north of Galesburg. It was settled in the mid-1800Õs and
populated by Swedes who wanted to worship in a manner inconsistent and
unacceptable to the Lutheran State Church of Sweden. But IÕm betting not many of us, including me, know
much about the Galesburg Land Company and its efforts to establish Swedish
Lutheran settlements in Kansas.
ItÕs hard to know where to start this story as it has
no clear starting point, so IÕll start it a little early with the
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. This
act had more than a little to do with the North-South disagreement on the
expansion of slavery, and the Civil War.
It also acted to accelerate the settlement of the area by both pro- and
anti-slavery advocates. Despite
this pre-Civil War turmoil, Kansas was also a new location of cheap farm
land. It was being touted by
railroads which owned large parcels of land that they wanted to sell. The railroad wanted to sell the land
for at least two reasons - (1.) immediate cash flow, and (2.) the
creation of future railroad customers for shipping agricultural items out and
finished goods in to Kansas.
In this environment, European immigrants, including
many Swedes, in the 1850Õs and 1860Õs were coming to America. It was the country of promise. America was the source of cheap land,
no class society, and the opportunity to improve oneself by hard work and good
sense. The Swedes knew this by
ÒAmerican lettersÓ sent back to Sweden by those who had already arrived in
America. Swedes also knew it
because of aggressive recruitment efforts by private interests, including
American railroad companies, seeking sources of cheap labor and new customers.
According to a published Kansas history, the
settlement of Swedes in Kansas dates to 1855 when John A. Johnson arrived from
Galesburg, Illinois and settled in Kansas (Blackmore, 1912). But this hardly started a trend.
An early supporter of Swedish immigration to Kansas in
the mid-1850s was Rev. T. N. Hasselquist.
Hasselquist was an important and influential Swedish Lutheran clergyman
in Galesburg and the surrounding communities. He became the publisher of the first Swedish-language
newspaper in America. It was
called Hemlandet and was founded
in 1855. It was initially published in Galesburg. Hemlandet served Swedes mostly in Illinois and nearby states,
but its issues also found their way to Sweden. Hasselquist used the paper to express his views and to guide
Swedes. For example, in the July
14, 1857 issue there was a special feature, titled ÒSome Words to Recently
Arrived Immigrants and Others Who Are Seeking Their Luck in AmericaÓ. The article reported that the eastern states
offered few opportunities and that land in Illinois and Iowa was already too
costly for immigrants of limited resources. He advocated that such Swedish immigrants would be wise to
go to some new territory like Kansas or Nebraska.
Dr., C. H. Gran, from Andover, Illinois, was also a
big supporter of Swedes settling in Kansas. Dr. Gran had visited Kansas and had a dream that never
materialized, of establishing a Scandinavian colony in Kansas. However, he also used the Hemlandet to warmly endorse the merits of Kansas. In the December 3, 1857 issue, Dr. Gran
writes, ÒÉwhen one gets up on a bluff and looks about these fruitful plains
and woods, and sees these wonders of GodÕs creation, the soul is filled with a
stirring that words cannot describe.Ó Dr. Gan visited Big Blue, Smoky Hill
and Republican River valleys, which were later to become significant Swedish
settlement areas. (Lindquist, 1963)
Perhaps not to be outdone, Henry L. Kissel who had
been in America for about 8 years also put his endorsement of Kansas in the Hemlandet on December 15, 1857:
ÒCountrymen in New York and in other eastern
states! You who work hard every
day for your small daily wage, now is the chance for you to get your own home
where you can live independent of Americans, and you will escape working so
hard and cease to be dependent upon your daily wagesÉ. Hurry to Kansas.Ó (Lindquist, 1963)
However, as time passed, and the killing of slaves and
abolitionists in Kansas occurred with greater frequency, the warm endorsements
of Kansas were replaced by a much more somber note. An article in the July 6, 1858 issue of Hemlandet, written
by A. Thorson provides the revised view:
ÒKansas is the battle ground and the scene of
conflict between two great political parties and the end of the struggle is far
off. For this reason at present
Kansas can only with difficulty be settled and occupied by peaceable people,
who must earn their bread by the sweat of their brows.Ó
Hemlandet reported
in the March 9, 1859 issued that a letter Òearnestly urging Swedes not to
come to KansasÓ had been read at a
large meeting in Galesburg on February 28. Finally, in 1860, Kansas suffered a
bad draught that created severe hardship on new settlers. This received significant coverage in
the American press and further discouraged immigrants from going to Kansas.
However, after the American Civil War ended in 1865,
Kansas received renewed attention as a place to settle. This was promoted not only by
railroads, but also by Swedes already living in America. There were two notable
Swedish-developed companies that promoted Swedish immigration to Kansas. One was ÒThe First Swedish
Agricultural CompanyÓ that was
organized in Chicago. The second
was ÒThe Galesburg Land CompanyÓ, formed in Galesburg in the fall of 1868.
The Galesburg Land Company purchased 14,080 acres (22
sections) of land in Saline and McPherson counties in Kansas from the Kansas
Pacific Railroad. The centers of
activities in the parcel were Freemount and Salemsborg. In 1868, the Scandinavian Agricultural
Society of Chicago was reported to have also purchased 12 sections of land
along the Republican River.
The motive force behind the Galesburg Land Company in
1868 was Rev. Anders W. Dahlsten, pastor of the Galesburg Lutheran Church. A meeting was held at the church, which
was attended by over 300 people. It is recorded that most of the members of
this group were Swedes from Smaland and that the organization was fostered
through the efforts of both the Galesburg and Andover Swedish Lutheran
churches. At the meeting, the
group decided to send a committee to Kansas to investigate the area for
potential settlement. The investigative committee was headed by Anders W.
Dahlsten. The committee visited the Smoky Hill of Central Kansas and found it
to have significant potential for a Swedish settlement. Thus, the Galesburg
Land Company bought a large block of land in that area. First, there was settlement by a few
Swedes from Illinois. However,
this was soon followed by much larger numbers of Swedish immigrants. In turn,
many Swedes moved to the Smoky Hill area of Kansas.
One of the early Illinois settler families was John
Peter and Matilda Stromquist. They
were originally from Smaland, Sweden, but had settled in Galesburg. In 1868, they settled in Fremont,
Kansas. John Peter Stromquist was
secretary of the Galesburg Land Company (Blackmore, 1912).
Lindsborg became the central Swedish town for the
Swedish settlements promoted by the Galesburg Land Company and several others
in the region. Salina, Fremont,
Salemsburg, Assaria, Falun, Marquette and Smolan are towns all located with the
territory controlled by the Galesburg Land Company. These immigrants via the
Galesburg Land Company founded both the Freemount and Salemsborg Lutheran
Churches in 1869.
It wasnÕt long before Swedish was heard as commonly as
English in the Smoky Hill region.
The Swedish culture slowly started to become Americanized, but the
Swedish language stayed the language of the Swedish Lutheran Church long after
English was spoken in Swedish homes. By 1890, there were 17,096 Swedish-born
settlers in Kansas, representing 11.6% of the foreign-born population
(Lindsborg C of C, undated).
At the time of this writing, you can log onto the
Internet and find the history of Salemsborg Lutheran Church in Smolan, Kansas
(Anon. undated). It reads, in part,
ÒIn the summer of 1868, Anders W. Dahlsten, pastor
of 1st Lutheran, Galesburg, lead a party representing the Galesburg
Land Company to Kansas to search for a place where a large group of Swedes
could settle, find economic opportunity, retain their Swedish culture and most
importantly worship GodÕs environment.Ó
Perhaps one of the unanticipated effects of the influx
of Swedes to Kansas was the effect on politics. Swedes were by very nature, more comfortable with the
Republican Party in the mid and late 1800Õs. One Kansas Swede was quoted to sum it up this way: ÒI am a Lutheran, I am a Republican,
and I drive a McCormick self-binder.Ó (Lindquist, 1963)
With the help of the Galesburg Land Company and other
Swedish immigrant companies, Swedes found fertile American soil to place their
Swedish roots. Dr. Carl Swensson
wrote in 1887 (Lindquist, 1963):
The sod-house yields to a comfortable wood house,
the shade trees are large, the fruit trees have already started to bear fruit,
the fields are extensive and well-cultivated, the farmer is the happy
proprietor in the largest and best country in the world. So, it goes from year to year. Children
are born, the family grows up, there are churches and school, and with respect
for and love of GodÕs word they will become a large and happy people.Ó
Even today, a trip to Lindsborg (ÒLittle SwedenÓ),
Kansas will confront the traveler with bits and pieces of old and new Sweden.
If you arrive at Swedish mid-summer, you may find Swedish folk dancing,
storytelling, and song and theater (Anon. 2000). Or as one author put it,
ÒAs you visit this lovely valley, pause
occasionally and listen for a violin, a voice or a piano. A child will be diligently mastering a
classical phrase. Pass a studio and notice the deft fingers of a local artist
bringing beauty to an empty canvas or a bit of wood. Visit a classroom and observe the children
learning about their heritage.
Better yet, visit a secluded spot overlooking the valley, gaze quietly
across the bounteous fields, and perhaps you too will hear, just audibly above
the wind, the whispered strains of a hymn, sung in Swedish, and reminding us of
the blessings we share in the Smoky Valley of Kansas.Ó (Holmquist, 2007).
Such is the story of how the Galesburg Land Company
helped plant Swedish roots in central Kansas soil over 125 years ago.
References
Anon. 2000. Lindsborg. www.nordicway.com/search/Places/places_lindsborg.htm
Anon. undated. Salemsborg Lutheran Church, Smolan,
Kansas. www.luthernsonline.com
Blackmore, Frank. 1912. Kansas: a cyclopedia of
state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties,
cities, towns, prominent persons, etc.
Standard Publishing Company. Chicago.
Holmquist, Tom. 2007. The Smoky Valley of Kansas. Svensk
Hyllningsfest 2007.
www.svenskhyllningsfest.org/smoky_valley.htm
Lindquist, Emory. 1963. The Swedish Immigrant and
Life in Kansas. Kansas Collection: Kansas Historical
Quarterlies
Lindsborg,
Kansas Chamber of Commerce. Undated. Lindsborg. www.lindsborg.org/community_info.html
10/4/07