Swedes of Texas

Swedish names mark the Texas map: Govalle, Lund, Manda, New Sweden, Hutto, Swedonia, East and West Sweden, Palm Valley, Swensondale and Bergstrom Air Force Base. Swedes were more numerous in Texas than in any other southern state, and in 1980 there were 8,147 people of Swedish descent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 6,569 around Houston and 4,795 around Austin. Erik Jonsson, a co-founder of Texas Instruments and a Dallas mayor, was a Texas Swede. In 1988 "New Sweden '88" marked 150 years of Swedish settlement in Texas with a visit from King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.

What the plaque says

Swedes of Texas Swedish immigration to Texas began with the arrival of Swen Magnus in 1838. Settling first on the gulf coast, he became a successful businessman. In 1850 he moved to Austin, where he established a ranch in the area he later named Govalle ("Good Grazing Land"). His uncle, Svante Palm, joined him in Austin in 1850 and together they promoted Swedish immigration to Texas. By 1910 some 7,000 Swedes came to Texas and established homes, farms, businesses, and churches. Palm became a community leader and served as Swedish Consul. Many Swedish immigrants settled in eastern Travis and Williamson counties. Although Swedish communities were also established on other areas, including Jackson, Bastrop, Wharton, Karnes, Calhoun, McCulloch, Willacy, Jones, McLennan, Harris, and Galveston Counties. Among the organizations Swedes established were Trinity College in Round Rock, Texas Wesleyan College in Austin, a Mutual Aid Society, and a Swedish language newspaper, "The Texas Posten". Churches begun by the immigrants include those of the Lutheran, Methodist, Evangelical Free, Presbyterian, and Baptist denominations. Traditional Swedish festivals such as St. Lucia and Midsummer are still celebrated in many cities. (1989)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Barton Springs Pool — 0.4 mi
  A three-acre pool in the bed of Barton Creek, fed by the fourth-largest spring in Texas at 68 to 70 degrees, and shared with an endangered salamander found almost nowhere else.
• Texas State Capitol — 1.9 mi
  Austin's fourth statehouse, a Renaissance Revival capitol of 1888 that stands 311 feet to its Goddess of Liberty and was restored after the 1983 fire.
• Bullock Texas State History Museum — 2.1 mi
  The state's history museum at the head of Congress Avenue, built around the hull of La Salle's ship La Belle, raised from Matagorda Bay with 1.8 million artifacts.
• Harry Ransom Center — 2.1 mi
  The University of Texas archive where a Gutenberg Bible and the earliest surviving camera photograph are always on view, free, beside the papers of Watergate and the movies.

More markers nearby

• Barton Springs — 0.4 mi
• Travis County — 0.4 mi
• Clarksville — 1.0 mi
• Michael Butler and Butler Brick Company — 1.1 mi