Some time elapsed before any sign of the future town of Galva appeared, there being but three human dwellings in the neighborhood. and these small and far apart. The thing needed to give the place a start was a railroad, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railway company in the fall of 1853 agreed to build its line through that point and locate a station there, provided land for that purpose was donated. This the owners agreed to, and the following autumn its trains thundered throu gh the town of Galva. which then existed only on paper.

This was at the time when the Bishop Hill Colony five miles away was at the height of its prosperity. The Wileys had purchased forty acres of land just south of the new town site and subsequently sold part of it to the colonists and another part of it to one Jacob Emery. In this wise the Bishop Hill people obtained a voice in the affairs of the new town, which they named Gefle, after the capital of the Swedish province of Gestrikland, from which they came. The name is said to have been first suggested by Olof Johnson, one of the leaders of the colonists. The Americans of the neighborhood, however, corrupted this to Galva, which was retained as the permanent form.

Galva was developed with a rapidity almost without precedent among the booming towns springing up in the new country. Three years after its founding, the place had 1,500 inhabitants, a large num­ber being Swedes, whose industry and enterprise contributed to its development. The largest share toward its upbuilding in the first few years was contributed by Bishop Hill. As soon as the railway had been completed, the colony erected a large warehouse at Galva, and shortly afterward a large business block of brick. Other business buildings followed, one of which was first used as a bank but was later turned into a hotel. The first comfortable dwelling house in the place was also erected by the colony.

In the foregoing chapter the extensive business enterprises of Olof Johnson have been described. The large warehouse was used to store grain which was bought up and shipped in large quantities, making Galva, at least for a time, one of the principal grain shipping centers in the state. The other large structure was used as a packing house for pork. It is related that at one time when the colony had $60,000 worth of pork from hogs raised at Bishop Hill stored here, the whole stock spoiled from careless packing. and was carted away and buried in a lot purchased for that purpose. together with many barrels of pork returned from eastern markets. The colony also carried on a general merchandise business and banking at Galva, and had a lumber yard there. Most of these enterprises, if not all, proved failures, entailing great loss to the colonists instead of being. as they ought to have been, great sources of income to their community.

Among the early Swedish business men of Galva were one Youngberg, who owned a small store, and Erik Quick, a watchmaker, who tinkered with innumerable side lines of business. Both of these men later went to California. Afterwards the number of Swedes in busi­ness increased, so as to make them predominant in many lines.

Among the more notable men who have resided in Galva are, Jonas W. Olson, son of the aforesaid Olof Olsson, and John Root, son of John Ruth, the assassin of Erik Jonsson ; both these men are lawyers and still live in Galva.

In Galva was founded one of the first Swedish-American news­papers, the full title of which was "Svenska Republikanen i Norra Amerika." It was first issued in the spring of 1856 and discontinued in the summer of 1858, after having been moved to Chicago that year. Late in the following decade, or in 1869, a Swedish and English newspaper, "The Illinois Swede," was started at Galva. Simultaneously an all English newspaper, "The Galva Republican," was published by the same firm. Late in 1870 "The Illinois Swede" was rechristened "Nya, Verlden" and published exclusively in the Swedish language. The, paper was moved to Chicago early in 1871, and in the fall of 1877 it was combined with "Nya Svenska Amerikanaren," resulting in a new paper ; entitled "Svenska Tribunen."

In 1867 Galva obtained its village charter. The town had 2,682 inhabitants in 1900. There are three Swedish churches, the Methodist Episcopal, founded in 1867. the Lutheran, founded in 1869, and a church of the Mission Covenant. In 1905 the first named church had 175 members, the second 420 and the last 14 members. It has not been possible to ascertain the number of Swedish-Americans in Galva, but with the aid of the above figures it may be stated with a reasonable degree of accuracy that at least half of the population is of the Swedish nationality.

 

 

Swedes in Illinois

 

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