Melvin

Melvin

(Severin)

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

This area was unknown to most Swedes in Texas until 1906. Melvin, the only Swedish community in Concho County, lies in the Melvin valley, about eighteen to twenty miles West of Brady, McCulloch County, and barely ten miles from the Swedish Church in West Sweden.

Concho County was considered unsuitable for farming up to the 1900’s, and most of the land was used for grazing. Attempts to farm the area were successful however, and since 1900 farming has been important here. Lack of transportation may have been one reason why attempts to farm the area had not been made earlier. The railroad to Brady was built in 1902, and since 1910 Brady was the closest railroad connection. The Santa Fe rail-road was built at this time through the area and on to Eden.

In 1907 Swedes from Williamson and Travis Counties began buying land in the Melvin valley. This settlement and the building of the railroad have made Melvin grow to a considerable railroad-station community. The Swedish settlement began when the wealthy Malmstrom family from Elroy, Travis County, moved to Melvin. D. J. Malmstrom and his sons C.J. Danielson and J. W. Flemming, bought large properties and vast stretches of land in 1907. At the same time, John Nystrom, H. French and Victor Anderson from Manor purchased a large area. After this beginning, two years of lively settlement continued.

A large and impressive church was built in Melvin as well as a parsonage. The religious activities are within the Free Church.

Extracted from: Swedes In Texas In Words and Pictures,

English Translation, 1838 - 1918