Swedes in Omaha, Nebraska
Encyclopedia
The Swedes in Omaha, Nebraska
are a long-standing ethnic group in the city
with important economic, social, and political ties.
at the Winter Quarters of the Mormons. The group continued to come through, particularly with the construction of the Union Pacific railroad in the 1860s and the Union Pacific Railroad Omaha Shops Facility
near downtown Omaha. In 1871, a committee of Swedes came from Illinois to determine whether the Nebraska prairie was suitable for Swedish settlement and farming. When they did, this committee effectively ushered in an entirely new influence in the growth of the state. This led to a variety of towns being settled, including Stromsburg
, Oakland
, Pender
, Wakefield
, and Wausa
. Other significant Swedish populations in Nebraska included Mead
, Malmo
, and Swedeburg. It also led to the development of Omaha's substantial Swedish population.
, bordered by 21st and 18th Streets, from Cass to Cumming Streets. Further north in the Kountze Place
neighborhood was another area with "many Swedes, some of the 'better class'". Other professional people who were from Sweden lived in the Gifford Park
neighborhood around 36th and Cass Streets. The impact of Swedes on the North Omaha community may be present in the Vikings mascot of Omaha North High School
. Josie McCullough, who grew up in the Near North Side during the late 1800s, wrote, "In that neighborhood Swedish, Bohemian
, Italian, Irish
and Negro
children all contributed to the process of Americanization
." By 1930, Swedes made up more than 10 percent of Omaha's population.
. Swedish Salem Lutheran church on Vinton was the longest serving Omaha church with its original congregation, serving for more than 100 years from 1891 onwards. In 1922 the Trinity Lutheran Church at 30th Street and Redick Avenue in the Miller Park
neighborhood of North Omaha was founded. These were both considered "children churches" of the original "mother churches", Immanuel Lutheran located at 17th and Cass, and the First Swedish Baptist Church. Other Swedish places of worship included First Swedish Methodist, Mission Covenant, Scandinavian Seventh Day Adventist, Holy Family Catholic
, Trinity Episcopal, and Swedish Salvation Army. There was a notable corridor of Swedish churches along North 18th Street. The Immanuel congregation merged with its daughter, Zion, under the name Augustana Swedish Evangelical Lutheran in a building constructed at 36th and Lafayette Avenue near the Bemis Park neighborhood. The church is the subject of the 1966 Academy Award-winning documentary A Time for Burning
.
at 72nd and Sorensen Parkway opened on June 29, 1974.
. The Auditorium housed a number of fraternities, including the Order of Vasa, the Vikings, Good Templars, and others. The Noon Day Scandinavian Club, a business group, has hosted Viking Fest, Christmas smörgåsbord, Pea Soup supper, and an annual banquet annually since 1909. The Omaha Posten (Omaha Post) was a Swedish-language paper published for several decades.
Today there is a Swedish consul in Omaha.
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
are a long-standing ethnic group in the city
Ethnic groups in Omaha, Nebraska
Various ethnic groups in Omaha, Nebraska have lived in the city since its organization by Anglo-Americans in 1854. Native Americans of various nations lived in the Omaha territory for centuries before European arrival, and some stayed in the area. The city was founded by white Anglo-Saxon...
with important economic, social, and political ties.
History
The first Swedes in Omaha came through FlorenceFlorence, Nebraska
Florence is a neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska on the city's north end and originally one of the oldest cities in Nebraska. It was incorporated by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature on March 10, 1857. The site of Winter Quarters for Mormon migrants traveling west, it has the oldest cemetery for...
at the Winter Quarters of the Mormons. The group continued to come through, particularly with the construction of the Union Pacific railroad in the 1860s and the Union Pacific Railroad Omaha Shops Facility
Union Pacific Railroad Omaha Shops Facility
The Union Pacific Railroad Omaha Shops Facility was a shop for the trains of the Union Pacific located at North 9th and Webster in Downtown Omaha. With the first locomotives arriving in 1865, it took until the 1950s for the facility to become the major overhaul and maintenance facility for the...
near downtown Omaha. In 1871, a committee of Swedes came from Illinois to determine whether the Nebraska prairie was suitable for Swedish settlement and farming. When they did, this committee effectively ushered in an entirely new influence in the growth of the state. This led to a variety of towns being settled, including Stromsburg
Stromsburg, Nebraska
Stromsburg is a city in Polk County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,232 at the 2000 census.- History :Stromsburg was settled early in Nebraska history. A group of Swedish settlers coming from the town of Ockelbo arrived in the 1860s after several years in Illinois. This group had a...
, Oakland
Oakland, Nebraska
Oakland is a city in Burt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,367 at the 2000 census. Oakland continues to build on its strong foundation with its bi-annual Swedish Festival and is known by its proclamation from the Swedish Consul-General and Nebraska Governor as the "Swedish...
, Pender
Pender, Nebraska
Pender is a village in Thurston County, Nebraska, United States, located on the Omaha Indian Reservation. The population was 1,002 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Thurston County...
, Wakefield
Wakefield, Nebraska
Wakefield is a city in Dixon and Wayne Counties in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The population was 1,411 at the 2000 census.The Dixon County portion of Wakefield is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, and Wausa
Wausa, Nebraska
Wausa is a village in Knox County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 634 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Wausa is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
. Other significant Swedish populations in Nebraska included Mead
Mead, Nebraska
Mead is a village in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 564 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mead is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
, Malmo
Malmo, Nebraska
Malmo is a village in Saunders County, Nebraska, in the United States. The population was 109 at the 2000 census. It is named after the Swedish city of Malmö.-Geography:Malmo is located at ....
, and Swedeburg. It also led to the development of Omaha's substantial Swedish population.
Neighborhoods
Omaha boasted an area of the city with such a heavy concentration of Swedes that it was called "Little Stockholm". That early area was in the Near North Side neighborhoodNear North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area...
, bordered by 21st and 18th Streets, from Cass to Cumming Streets. Further north in the Kountze Place
Kountze Place
The Kountze Place neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community on the city's north end. Today the neighborhood is home to several buildings and homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located between North 16th Avenue on the east to North 30th...
neighborhood was another area with "many Swedes, some of the 'better class'". Other professional people who were from Sweden lived in the Gifford Park
Gifford Park
Gifford Park is a historic neighborhood in midtown Omaha, Nebraska. It is roughly bounded by the North Freeway on the east, North 38th Street on the west, Dodge Street on the south and Cuming Street on the north. Its namesake park was added to the City parks network in 1916...
neighborhood around 36th and Cass Streets. The impact of Swedes on the North Omaha community may be present in the Vikings mascot of Omaha North High School
Omaha North High School
Omaha North High Magnet School is a public high school located at 4410 N 36th Street in Omaha, Nebraska. The school is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics magnet school in the Omaha Public Schools district. North has won several awards, including being named a 2007 Magnet Schools of...
. Josie McCullough, who grew up in the Near North Side during the late 1800s, wrote, "In that neighborhood Swedish, Bohemian
Czechs in Omaha, Nebraska
Czechs in Omaha, Nebraska have made significant contributions to the political, social and cultural development of the city since the first immigrants arrived in 1868.-About:In the 1860s many Czechs, primarily from Bohemia and Moravia, immigrated to Nebraska...
, Italian, Irish
Irish in Omaha, Nebraska
The Irish in Omaha, Nebraska have constituted a major ethnic group throughout the history of the city, and continue to serve as important religious and political leaders. They compose a large percentage of the local population....
and Negro
African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska
African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska are central to the development and growth of the 43rd largest city in the United States. The first free black settler in the city arrived in 1854, the year the city was incorporated....
children all contributed to the process of Americanization
Americanization
Americanization is the influence of the United States on the popular culture, technology, business practices, or political techniques of other countries. The term has been used since at least 1907. Inside the U.S...
." By 1930, Swedes made up more than 10 percent of Omaha's population.
Institutions
There were a variety of Swedish institutions throughout Omaha, including religious, social, and economic facilities.Churches
Second Baptist Church, originally built in 1889, was rebuilt in 1906 at South 26th and K Streets near South HighOmaha South High School
Omaha South High School is an Information Technology and Visual/Performing Arts magnet school which educates students in grades 9–12. It is one of the largest high school buildings in Nebraska....
. Swedish Salem Lutheran church on Vinton was the longest serving Omaha church with its original congregation, serving for more than 100 years from 1891 onwards. In 1922 the Trinity Lutheran Church at 30th Street and Redick Avenue in the Miller Park
Miller Park (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Miller Park neighborhood in North Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community housing a historic district and several notable historic places. It is located between Sorenson Parkway on the south and Redick Avenue on the north, Florence Boulevard on the east and 30th Street on the west...
neighborhood of North Omaha was founded. These were both considered "children churches" of the original "mother churches", Immanuel Lutheran located at 17th and Cass, and the First Swedish Baptist Church. Other Swedish places of worship included First Swedish Methodist, Mission Covenant, Scandinavian Seventh Day Adventist, Holy Family Catholic
Holy Family Catholic Church (Omaha, Nebraska)
Holy Family Church was built in 1883 at 1715 Izard Street, at the intersections of 18th and Izard Streets in North Omaha, Nebraska. It is the oldest existing Catholic Church in Omaha, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-History:...
, Trinity Episcopal, and Swedish Salvation Army. There was a notable corridor of Swedish churches along North 18th Street. The Immanuel congregation merged with its daughter, Zion, under the name Augustana Swedish Evangelical Lutheran in a building constructed at 36th and Lafayette Avenue near the Bemis Park neighborhood. The church is the subject of the 1966 Academy Award-winning documentary A Time for Burning
A Time for Burning
A Time for Burning is a 1966 American documentary film which explores the attempts of the minister of Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska, to persuade his all-white congregation to reach out to "negro" Lutherans in the city's north side. The film was directed by San Francisco filmmaker...
.
Immanuel Hospital
On October 8, 1887, Reverend E.A. Fogelstrom and others organized the Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Association for Works for Charity. In December 1890, the association completed construction of a hospital located at 36th and Meredith Streets in North Omaha. As the community's needs grew, a new hospital opened in 1910 in the same area, and a third hospital was built at the 36th and Meredith site in 1926. In the 1950s, a six-story addition to the hospital doubled its size. The current 166-acre site of the Immanuel Medical CenterImmanuel Medical Center
Immanuel Medical Center is a part of the Alegent Health System located in Omaha, Nebraska.-History:In 1879, the Rev. Erik Alfred Fogelstrom came to Nebraska to serve the Swedish population in Omaha as pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church. On October 8, 1887, Pastor Foglestrom and others organized...
at 72nd and Sorensen Parkway opened on June 29, 1974.
Others
The Swedish Auditorium, a social hall, was located at 1611 Chicago Street near Downtown OmahaDowntown Omaha
Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and is located in Omaha, Nebraska. The boundaries are 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline of Leavenworth Street on the south to the centerline...
. The Auditorium housed a number of fraternities, including the Order of Vasa, the Vikings, Good Templars, and others. The Noon Day Scandinavian Club, a business group, has hosted Viking Fest, Christmas smörgåsbord, Pea Soup supper, and an annual banquet annually since 1909. The Omaha Posten (Omaha Post) was a Swedish-language paper published for several decades.
Today there is a Swedish consul in Omaha.
Famous Swedes from Omaha
- Carl A. SwansonCarl A. SwansonCarl A. Swanson was the founder of the national food production company, Swanson.-Background:Carl A. Swanson was born in Karlskrona, Blekinge County, Sweden...
started a commission business hauling eggs, milk and poultry they bought from local farmers and selling them to the grocery stores and hotels in Omaha. His company fostered the famous SwansonSwansonSwanson is a brand of TV dinners, broths, and canned poultry made for the North American market. The TV dinner business is currently owned by Pinnacle Foods, while the broth business is currently owned by the Campbell Soup Company...
foods brand. - Glynn RossGlynn RossGlynn Ross was an American opera impresario. Ross was the first general director of the Seattle Opera, serving that company from 1963 to 1983, and the second general director of the Arizona Opera, from 1983 to 1998.-Background:He was born Glynn W...
was an American opera impresario from Omaha. The first general director of the Seattle OperaSeattle OperaThe Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
, he was also the second general director of the Arizona OperaArizona OperaArizona Opera is an opera company which operates in both Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.Arizona Opera was established in 1971 as the Tucson Opera Company, under founding general director James P. Sullivan, and presented its first production, of Rossini's The Barber of Seville, in 1972. By 1976 the...
, from 1983 to 1998.