The Institute of Texan Cultures is a museum interpreting Texas History as a multi-cultural experience. It began as the Texas Exhibit at the World's Fair held in San Antonio in 1968. Today it is operated as one of the three campuses of the University of Texas at San Antonio. The museum exhibits many ethnic-centric displays honoring the pioneers leaders from each culture and the contribution each diverse group made to the development of our present commonwealth. Some of the displays include our native Indians, Spanish/Mexican, Afro, German, Scotch, Japanese, etc, and there is a large and significant Swedish exhibit. A few pictures from the Swedish display with a brief explanation and comments follow.
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The title picture above was made from a picture of the
Swedish Flag taken March15, 2002 flying from its fifty foot staff in
the flag field in front of the museum. The picture shows the effect
of the winds of a late season norther that had blown in just before the
picture was taken..
The Swedish display includes a mid-19th century Swedish immigrant cabin in Texas, a Swedish loom, and a history-wall with pictures and text telling about some early Swedish-Texan pioneers. The picture at the left is of the cabin. The figures are clad in ordinary dress common at the time in Southern Sweden. the area from where most of the Swedish immigrants to Texas came. The trunk where they kept there clothing is consigned to a Texas post office address as if it was shipped from the mother country for deliver to the owner in their new home. On the wall hang several tools including a bucksaw and several decorative tapestries. On the table there is a coffee bean roaster and grinder, wooden plates and a wooden candlestick. |
| The loom pictured to the left is a four harness, counter
balanced, six treadle machine manufactured in Sweden in the mid-19th
century. Looms of this type might have been brought to Texas by the
early immigrants. More likely, however, luggage weight restrictions
and cost would have prevented the bringing of such machines. It is
said that the industrious Swedes built their looms in Texas from their
memory of the mechanism.
This is quite a complicated machine. Some of our weavers use it and you can see that a work is in progress. I would find the working of the six foot peddles confusing. I have trouble enough demonstrating the simple two pedal machine at the National Historic Park's 18th century Mission Espada where I do interpretative work also. |
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The two pictures below are sections from the history wall in the Swedish exhibit. The man in the first picture is S. M. (for Swen Magnus) Swenson. He was born in Barkeryd, Sweden in 1816 emigrating to New York in 1837. where he was employed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railway in what would appear as a rather high professional position as they sent him to Texas in 1838 to study the possibility of expansion there. This was just two years after the Battle of San Jacinto had won the Independence of the new Republic from Mexico. Swenson seems too have quickly concluded that Texas was not yet ripe for railroad building but stayed in Texas acquiring land and business connections. In 1847 he made a return visit to Sweden as a successful Rancher and business man and is credited with encouraging the emigration of many Swedes to Texas. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 Swenson supported the Union and was forced to leave the State. He apparently never returned as a resident although he continued to own and manage his large land and business interests in the Austin area. |
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In the second picture on the right (above), the man in the lower center picture is John Peter Sjolander. He came to Texas from Sweden in 1871. Within a decade he had mastered the English language and was writing poetry in his adopted tongue. To support his literary career he was a vegetable farmer selling his produce at the nearby Galveston market. By 1900 it is said that he was the best known Poet in Texas. His best know published book was entitled, "Salt of the Earth and Sea." He was a founding member of the Poetry Society of Texas. We are a nation of emigrants and Sweden is one of the many places from whence our culture sprang. We thank you for your contribution!
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