Austin

AUSTIN

(Severin)

Biographies Alf. L. Scott and T. J. Westerberg

The capital of Texas, with around 1,000 Swedes situated on the Colorado River in Travis County, is built on beautiful, forested hills, with a picturesque view of the river which flows through the city, and could be called the most distinguished Swedish community in Texas. The first Swedish immigrants settled in Fort Bend County as early as in the 40’s, that is true, but those who survived this attempt at colonization almost immediately came to Austin. The immigration that followed was also directed towards Austin. In Travis County, it was in Austin and the area around it where the first Swedes settled. Travis County which had been incorporated in 1840 was not very populated when the first immigrants came, but after the state government was moved to Austin more and more people moved here. In 1856, large areas west and north of Travis County were uninhabited wilderness except for the German colonization in Gillespie County and a few people in Burnet County. The first colonization in Travis County came about in 1836 and it was called Waterloo. It was chosen by a commission to be the seat of the state government in 1839. The question of where to put the capital had become a big problem. Houston had been selected as the capital city in 1837, but it was abandoned as early as 1839 when the archives were moved to Austin. Waterloo, with a land-area of 7,735 acres, was bought for a sum of twenty thousand dollars, and at the same time the name of the place was changed to Austin. The city plan was laid out in May of 1839, and the first sale of city lots took place in August. The building work was carried out so energetically that in October of the same year, the Capitol was ready for the President to move in. Ten years later the population was only 629. It was at this time, or around 1850 that the first Swedes came to Texas. Among the first and best known names are S. M. Swenson, Consul Swante Palm, August Palm, Dan Heard, Carl W. Berryman, the brothers John and Carl Johnson, Andrew Monson, Johannes Dukey, Anders Holmstrom, Jonas Bergstrom, John Peterson, Mary Moody, Agnes and Laura Alm, Mrs. Monson-Langford, the Rosengrens, Otto Swenson and others. With S. M. Swenson’s help, most of them were employed in his businesses in Austin partly with the building of the Avenue Hotel which was being built by Swenson, partly on his plantation close to the city. Others, such as Berryman, started his own business, and John Johnson built a mill along the Colorado River close to Austin. This company was not only a profitable business because Johnson’s mill was the only one in the area north of the river, it was also an example of the enterprise of the pioneers. The mill, which Johnson himself built, was constructed on a large barge with an enormous waterwheel and was anchored on the north side of the river at the mouth of Shoal Creek where it was powered by the current.

When the first Swedes arrived, times were anything but good. There was a bad drought in the years between 1854 and 1857, and there was not enough grain to support the settlers, but it had to be imported which was a big problem in those days. For a distance of one-hundred fifty miles, they did not have any means of transportation other than ox-drawn wagon. For over thirty years after Travis County had been organized, there was no railroad to the capital city. As late as 1872, the Houston & Central Texas Railroad was built to Austin from the coast, and in 1876 the International & Great Northern Railroad ran from the north through Austin, to San Antonio. The only important new colonies in 1859 were Webberville, Merriltown, and Parson’s Seminary. The white population was in 1850 only 2,336 whites, with 791 negroes; in the year 1900, there were 47,386 whites with 13,299 negroes, and in 1910, there were 55,620 white inhabitants. The taxable value in Travis County was in 1870, $5,537,619 and in 1913, $38,644,950. In both Travis and Williamson counties, the Swedes have made an important contribution to the development, particularly in the field of agriculture. Here, as in other areas, the Swedes settled in the countryside, first close to the city and then in Govalle, but as the immigration increased, they spread and created settlements, and to the east from Austin to Elgin there are almost exclusively Swedish communities. In the beginning of the 70’s, more families started to move to Austin. Many of these were craftsmen who were blacksmiths, builders and railroad workers. The young men hired themselves out as gardeners, stablehands and coachmen. They were well liked and sought after, and many of those who had to be content with a small monthly salary are today financially independent in the city or out in the country in their lovely homes. The Swedish immigrant girls were particularly well liked in rich American families and got jobs as housekeepers, housemaids or cooks. The young women in the new country did not have limitations on what they could do, so many who had the desire and ability have studied and have had a chance to fill high and responsible posts within the state or community.

Among the Swedish settlements, Govalle, a little south of Austin, is the oldest and best known. This is where S. M. Swenson had his plantation, also a Mr. Townsend, and many of the Swedish immigrants came here to work to pay for their passage. The Avenue Hotel, which was being built by S. M. Swenson in the beginning of the 50’s, was not only the first Swedish building in Austin, but it was the largest and most expensive of the time, and it was in good condition until July, 1918, when it was damaged by fire and had to be rebuilt. We should not forget Swedish Hill on the east side of the city. This place became important in the 70’s, when the immigrants of 1867 started to settle there. The first to build his own home was the blacksmith, S. A. Lundell, and soon thereafter, Carl Johan Swahn. This is also where the first Swedish Methodist church in Texas was built, and there are still many Swedes in this part of the city.

In later years, the Swedes have taken more of an interest in business. Among Swedish businesses, we can mention the Rosengren Funeral Home, the Hirshfleld & Anderson Clothing Store, the Johnson Rubber Company, the F. H. Johnson Tire Company, the Swedish newspaper company: the Texas Posten Publishing Company, six Swedish bakeries; the Capitol, the Zakrison, the Dahlin, the Beluine, the Carlson, and the Royal Bakeries. There are four Swedish groceries: C. O. Lindahl, the Sandberg Brothers, O. Westling, E. Holmstrom and the O.E. Olander Dairy, the Strid Brothers Shoe Store, the Stohl Shoemaker, the building contractors: Peterson, Julius, Ben and Carl Knape, the Seaholm Stone Cutter, Swan Martin’s and Thomason’s Blacksmith Shops, Mrs. Hillyer’s Florist Shop, etc.

Austin has over three-hundred-fifty businesses and a considerable manufacturing industry. The taxable value in 1913 was estimated at $22,000,000, and the inhabitants in 1918 were around 36,000.

Most of the state institutions and government buildings are located here. The new Capitol was built at the cost of three million acres of land, and it is considered to be the seventh largest building in the world. The State University, with 4,500 student per year, is of great importance to the city. Austin also has over thirty-five academic institutions, seventy-five churches, of which three are Swedish: one Methodist, one Lutheran, and one Baptist church. Just east of the University, on College Hill on a beautiful knoll, is the Swedish Methodist College, Texas Wesleyan College.

Among the advantages that Austin can offer, we should mention the nice climate. Unlike other places where immigrants settled, here they never suffered from fevers or epidemics of one kind or the other. There are still those among the older people who remember the feared small-pox epidemic which was going around in 1881, when eleven Swedes were infected and died from the disease. However, the epidemic did not start in the colony here, it was brought to the community by a couple of Swedish families who moved here from the north.

A lot has been done in the last couple of years to beautify the city. Nice parks and wide, symmetrically laid out streets are quite impressive. A little way up the river, a dam has been built at a cost of over one million dollars. This huge structure was destroyed in a flood in 1900, but it was rebuilt in 1917. The new dam is 1,200 feet long, and 65 feet high. The dammed river is navigable from here and thirty miles inland.

Because of the on going war in Europe, military schools have been established in Austin. Here, young men of all nationalities, not least the Swedes, compete to show Uncle Sam their devotion.

Extracted from: Swedes In Texas In Words and Pictures,

English Translation, 1838 - 1918