Introduction
SRIO researches the lives, settlements, and achievements of the Swedes of Oregon and publishes the findings in a variety of formats. Here you’ll find summaries of books, booklets, and translations compiled and published by SRIO along with information on how to purchase these items.
Books
From the earliest accounts of Swedish immigration in Oregon to contemporary essays of the modern immigrant’s experience, there is something here for any reader interested in understanding the process of leaving one’s homeland and starting a new life in America. Whether it was founding Swedish speaking communities, designing, and building bridges and other infrastructure, establishing newspapers and businesses, serving as teachers, nurses, ministers, and elected officials, or gathering in lodges and churches to preserve Swedish culture, Swedes made their mark in Oregon in a variety of fascinating ways.
Booklets
The essays, diary entries, and articles found in SRIO’s booklets focus on ordinary people who took the extraordinary leap of emigration from Sweden to America. In addition to first-hand accounts, you’ll also find the perspectives of first-generation Swedish Americans born to immigrant parents. Most of these booklets were featured in SRIO’s first book, Swedish Oregon, compiled and edited by Lars Nordstöm, which is now out of print.
Skarstedt Biographies
A treasure trove of Swedish Oregon history, these brief biographies by journalist Ernst Skarstedt feature prominent Swedish individuals and families from 1880 to 1910. As the majority of those covered by Skarstedt resided in Portland, Oregon, this translation from the original Swedish provides more insight into the active role the immigrants played in the city’s early development.