The Swedish Texans (Texians and the Texans)

In the years between 1838 and 1918, some 5,000 Swedes left their homeland and immigrated to the plains and cities of Texas. The relatively small number of Swedes in the Lone Star State belied the vigor of the institutions, both religious and secular, which they established and stubbornly maintained for a century or more. Author Larry Scott uses the stories of individuals and families, their letters to friends and relatives back home, Swedish-Texan newspapers and books, and many other sources to discover how Swedes adapted to the land and fused their customs with those of the New World. In that fusion, much of what they brought with them was lost. But much remained or at least has left its mark on a modern state where the early pioneers on their endless prairies would not have felt at home. Only Minnesota has as many historical markers commemorating Swedish-American achievements. And nowhere but Texas did so few try to build so much and come so close to fulfilling their Texas-size dreams.