Holiday Shopping at SHCC

Stop in the Swedish Heritage Center to do your holiday shopping. Lovely hand-crafted tea towels with beautiful Stanton, IA personalization. Beautiful metal Dala horses to grace the outside of your home. Festive ornaments to hand on the tree --- and so much more.

SWEDISH HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CENTER

The beginnings of the Swedish settlement in Stanton were in the immigration from Sweden to southern Illinois in the 1850's and 60's. Among those settlers was Bengt Magnus Johanson. Briefly, he changed his surname to Halland - his home province in Sweden, became a pastor in Burlington, and in 1869 arranged with the railroad to find a place for fellow Swedes to settle that had better economic prospects. Many have written about this history. The best known is "Gracious Bounty" by Claus L. Anderson, born near Stanton in 1871.

The history of this Halland settlement is the prime reason for the Swedish Heritage and Cultural Center.

"Gracious Bounty" and other historical writings are available in the gift shop. But this is just the beginning.....

Roots in Sweden Project

Find out how you can be a part of our Roots in Sweden Project!

One Room School

Gustav Mathilda Ossian Foyer

An Immigrant's Journey

Midsommer 2022

Coffeepot

Stanton's Famous Coffeepot

Singers

Swedish School Students sing

Pancake eaters

Hungry pancake eaters

Dancers

Swedish School Dancers

Swedish School Students

Gathering the flowers

Decorated Maypole

Dancing around the Maypole

Raising the Maypole

Swedish Scarf Dance

Swedish Girl Dancers

Swedish Scarf Dance

Swedish Girl Dancers

Volunteers Needed

Help is needed to digitalize the videotapes taken by Donald Hallquist in the 1960's and 70's.
Contact Sheila Manquist if you can help.
Phone- (712-370-6806).

Do you have old photos, postcards, newspapers or other artifacts and don't know what to do with them?

Please consider donating them to us by bringing or sending them to Swedish Heritage and Cultural Center. Perhaps the things you have will help fill-in the missing gaps in our records.

We know there is much information yet to be discovered!

The Swedes call this Döstädning - or Swedish death cleaning - the cleaning and decluttering a person does as their time on earth nears an end.

Roots in Sweden Project Form

Where in Sweden were your people from? Did your great or great-great grandparents make the journey to the Stanton area? If you know and would like to share that information with us, please complete the form and send to us. This information will be added to a database and the locations of your ancestors will be marked on a large map of Sweden. The map and notebook will be displayed in the Halland Room where the tours of Swedish Heritage and Cultural Center begin. Thank you for helping us with this new project!

There are multiple ways to complete and submit the project form.

Stop by the Heritage Center and pick one up - complete and return.
Call Chris Nelson - 712-621-2785 and he will mail one to you.
Download the printable pdf form from the link below, complete and mail back.
Complete the online fillable form and hit the submit button!

Link to printable PDF form

Link to online fillable form

Roots