New Sweden dates to 1870, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1880.
New Sweden has maintained many Swedish traditions since its founding, including the celebrations of St. Lucia Day and "Midsommar." Founders Day is also observed on July 23 every year. The Swedish language can sometimes still be heard in the older generation. The New Sweden Folk Dancers typically perform at many of the Swedish celebrations and Swedish foods are known to grace the tables.
New Sweden was the home of Einar Gustafson, who was the archetype of the child for whom the Jimmy Fund was named. The Disappearance of Stefanie Damron occurred here in September 2024.
Passages that mention New Sweden, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The story of New Sweden [electronic resource]1896Read the page →
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New Sweden was incorporated as a town on January 29, 1895. The first town election was held on the March 6, 1895, and the following persons were elected the first officers of the Town of New Sweden : Selectmen.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The story of New Sweden [electronic resource]1896 · page 82Read the page →
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In the ftill of 1873, the condition of the colony was excellent. The little settlement of fifty had increased to six hundred, and outside of New Sweden there were as many more Swedes located in our state, drawn to us by our Swedish colony. The settlement of New Sweden had outgrown the township of that name and spread over the adjoining sections of Woodland, Caribou and Perham. The trees on 2200 acres
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
New Sweden, 1870 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1870, according to Wikidata. New Sweden’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 517 people here.
What is on the National Register in New Sweden?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Timmerhuset (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Larsson-Noak Historic District, with 4 contributing buildings. 10 historic buildings in all.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1991
1991
1991
2026
2017
2014
