Conference turris::scandia

15.0. "Maine's Swedish "Colony"" by TLE::SAVAGE () Tue Dec 17 1985 13:10

  Most of the following is based on a "Faces of Maine" article by 
  James S. Leamon, a history professor at Bates College.

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  Several miles northwest of Caribou, Maine, on State Route 161, lies
  the village of New Sweden.  It was here, in 1870, that the Maine
  legislature decided to establish a colony of picked Swedish settlers.
  
  Carried away by a wave of prejudice that today would seem in 
  character only for Archie Bunker, promoters of this restrictive 
  immigration repeatedly sang the praises of Teutonic virtues and 
  pointed to a mystical bond of blood and climate that supposedly
  linked the inhabitants of Maine with those of Scandinavia.  

  The man who was chiefly responsible for bringing the Swedes to 
  Maine, and for presiding over their early fate, was William Widgery
  Thomas, Jr. (1939 to 1927), a Portland-born lawyer, politician, and
  diplomat.  He characterized Swedes as "honest and industrious, law-
  abiding and God-fearing, polite and brave, hospitable and generous,
  of the same old northern stock as ourselves, no foreign-speaking
  immigrants learn our language more quickly, and none become so 
  Americanized or make better citizens of our Republic."

  Hannibal Hewlin, formerly a U.S. Vice President and then U.S. Senator
  said this: "Undoubtedly, geographical position and climate have much
  to do in forming the character of a people.  Mountainous countries
  produce heroes; where the mountains point to heaven, the lovers of
  freedom have always dwelt."

  With such Swedophila in full bloom, the Maine government created
  a 'Board of Immigration' in March 1870, with authority to recruit
  Swedish settlers.  Each adult male or head of a family was promised
  100 acres of land, with full title in five years provided he had 
  built a house and cleared 15 acres.

  Thomas went to Sweden to effect the recruitment.  He selected only 
  those that could show a certificate of good character signed by the
  local pastor, and who exhibited potential for becoming thrifty 
  citizens.  Within 40 days of his arrival, he had 51 settlers 
  representing nearly every Swedish province.  Many of the 22 men were
  skilled tradesmen and professionals.  The number included a lay
  preacher, a civil engineer, a blacksmith, a baker, a tailor, and a
  wooden-shoe maker.  All were farmers as well.  The women numbered 11,
  and the children 18.

  Thomas crowed, "All were tall and stalwart, with blue eyes and light
  hair and and cheerful, honest faces; there was not a physical defect
  or blemish among them."

  On July 23, 1870, the small band reached its destination, then known
  as 'township number 15, range number three.'  They found six 
  hastily-built log cabins in a stump-strewn clearing, and renamed the
  place "Nya Sverige" (New Sweden).

  Within a year, the original group had doubled in number.  During the
  winter of 1870-71, Thomas renewed his recruitment efforts.  With the
  spring of 1871 came individual families at first, then groups of 30
  or 40, and finally companies of 200 or more.

  Thomas set himself up as 'Consul,' settling disputes, organizing the
  labor, and in general directing all matters of common concern.  Most
  Swedes responded favorably to Thomas' robust, dynamic personality, 
  some even named their children after him.

  Gradually, Thomas relinquished command and, in the fall of 1873, 
  turned control over to a 'Committee of Ten' he had earlier organized.
  The Maine legislature organized New Sweden into a 'plantation' in
  1876, and accorded it legal status as a town 20 years later.

  Despite their resourcefulness, the Swedes did not always have an 
  easy time.  A depression in 1873 devastated the fledgling hand-cut
  shingle industry.  In 1874, forest fires, a bad growing season, and
  a worse harvest compounded the crisis.  In hard times like these,
  the State of Maine supplied provisions in return for work on public 
  projects.

  Sustained prosperity finally came in the 1880s.  By 1895, the 
  settlers had cleared 8000 acres; the town boasted 300 private 
  dwellings, seven schools, and four churches.  Potatoes [what else in
  northern Aroostook Co.?] were the main cash crop.  

  The railroad came in 1899, followed by a new wave of immigrants: 
  French-Canadians.  For, even as the first group of Swedes arrived
  in Maine, reforms in old Sweden were under way, removing the reasons
  for emigration.  By the turn of the century, Sweden enjoyed many of
  the economic, social, political, and religious freedoms that had 
  attracted so many of her citizens to America.  Swedish immigration
  dwindled sharply.

  New Sweden's 'golden age' finally came to an end with the Great
  Depression of the 1930s.  The Swedish community was unable to find
  economic alternatives to the collapsed lumber and associated 
  industries.  Even farming became a marginal operation as the Swedes
  struggled with the same problems besetting American agriculture
  everywhere.

  Today, the remnant of the Swedish settlements of New Sweden and
  Stockholm survive as testimony of a people with common cultural
  identity, facing the rigors of American frontier life.  In this,
  the Swedish churches played a special role, striving to preserve
  the bonds of language and of traditional ceremonies, religious and
  secular.  From the first, the churches in New Sweden taught and 
  preached in the native tongue and maintained special classes to 
  teach Swedish to the young people.  In the Lutheran Church, services
  in Swedish continued to 1940, and hymns in Swedish are still   
  occasionally sung.

  Lately, the Swedish community has been undergoing a modest cultural
  revival, with renewed interest in Swedish arts and handicrafts,
  such as weaving,spinning, and quilting; restoration of early log
  buildings; and the learning of the Swedish language.  Interest among
  summer residents and tourists has spurred the Swedes themselves to
  take a new look at their heritage and its physical remains.

Well, that's the second Nya Sverige in North America; the first was the
17th century colony in Delaware (and a little on the other side of the
river in New Jersey too, I think.)  One of my ancestors was a doctor
who was hired to go over to the colony.  I think that his name was Tyne
Stiddham, but I don't know exactly where he came from.

					- Aron Insinga
					  (former Delawarian)

    This being the 125th year of New Sweden's founding as a colony, there
    are plans for a big celebration. 21 through 23 July, 1995. For
    information, write to:
    
    		Hundra Tjugo Fem
    		P.O. Box 50
    		New Sweden, ME  04762
    
    If you want to go there for the 1995 Midsommar celebration (24-25 June),
    call (207) 896-3370 or (207) 896-3007 for more information.