Sweden in Kansas

Located near the center of the Sunflower State you will find a city whose history – and whose present-day “DNA” – link to old world Europe. And to be more specific, to Sweden. 

A city nestled cozily in Kansas’s Smoky Valley. A farming community in the heart of Kansas’s wheat belt.

This city, with a two square mile footprint, and just about 4,000 townsfolk, is Lindsborg. “Little Sweden.”

Lindsborg was settled in 1869 by a group of immigrants from Sweden who ventured into America’s heartland. As the influence of Sweden on Lindsborg traces back to this Kansas City’s origin, to this day, three out of ten of those who call Lindsborg “home” have Swedish heritage.

In the very beginning…

Located in McPherson County on the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway, a late-Nineteenth Century expedition to this new state of Kansas, an expedition headed by a Swedish clergyman, an expedition to what would go on to become a city named after members of a Chicago coalition of farmers was headed by Olof Olsson.

Born in Varmland, Sweden, Olof Olsson studied at Stockholm University, graduating from Sweden’s Uppsala University.

Together with his group of a few hundred Swedes, Olsson headed Kansas. To become a pastor. For his Kansas settlement, Olsson envisioned a community which could be founded upon religion, education, business and farming. 

Ten years after Olsson’s arrival – in 1879 – Lindsborg was incorporated as a city.

Lindsborg…

Translated from Swedish to English, Lindsborg is Linden Castle.

The “Lind” in Lindsborg…

Kansas’s “Little Sweden” – with its limestone buildings accentuating Main Street downtown -.is named for four Swedish townsfolk who proved to be instrumental to Lindsborg’s formation. These four men – N. P. Linde, S. P. Lindgren, S. A. Lindell, and J. O. Lindh. The “Lind’s” in Lindsborg. 

As the foundation for Lindsborg had been laid, Linde, Lindgren, Lindell and Lindgren were members of Svenska Lantbrukskompaniet. A Chicago company with a Swedish name, Svenska Lantbrukskompaniet translated to English is, First Swedish Agricultural Company.

First Swedish Agricultural Company of McPherson County was organized in 1868 in Chicago.

With the formation of First Swedish Agricultural Company of McPherson County, the new entity’s parent company – Chicago Swedish Company – sent agents to McPherson County to buy land. Land which would be used for farming. 

Lindsborg, with its fertile soil, coupled to its location along the Smoky Hill River, was perfect. Farming in Lindsborg took hold.

Olsson’s arrival. Land acquisition by First Swedish Agricultural Conpany. The beginning of Lindsborg. Olsson, Linde, Lindgren, Lindell and Lindh being the forefathers for this new Smoky Valley farming community in Kansas’s wheat belt.

Svensk Hyllingsfest…

Speaking to Lindsborg’s Swedish history, it is fitting to also note Lindsborg’s Swedish present.

“Little Sweden” is home to the Swedish Honoring Festival. Translated from English to Swedish, Swedish Honoring Festival is Svensk Hyllningfest. 

Held every two years in Lindsborg, the Swedish Honoring Festival is a biennial celebration of Lindsborg’s Swedish heritage.

Folk dancing. The parade. Musicians. Local artists. Cuisine. Svensk Hyllingfest.

Children in school in Lindsborg start their preparation for Svensk Hyllingfest, beginning in the first grade. As Svensk Hyllingfest is a part of a child’s classroom experience. 

And the integration of Swedish culture into classroom curriculum in Lindsborg does not end in the eighth grade. It continues on. Through high school.

High school students in Lindsborg prepare to participate in Svensk Hyllingfest as ambassadors. Selected as Svenska Hyllingfest Swedish Folk Dancers in a four-year ambassadorships program.

As ambassadors, theses students interact with the Lindsborg community. Promoting the continuation of an active Swedish culture in Lindsborg. While erstwhile, continuing their preparation for Svensk Hyllingfest.

A biennial October celebration, Svensk Hyllingfest has been an autumn stalwart in “Little Sweden” for over eighty years.

This October, in just about two months, Svenska Hyllingfest kicks off once again. In Lindsborg.