Vasa National Archives

THE PURPOSE OF THE ARCHIVES. The purpose as described in the Incorporation Document is for "Educational, historical and research; to preserve and display and make available records, documents, works of art, science, inventions and manufacture by persons of Swedish ancestry and to promote public knowledge of an interest in the history of persons of Scandinavian and particularly Swedish ancestry." T

he main purpose is to preserve the records of the Vasa Order of America and its members. We have set up a Family register where all Vasa members and their families will be chronicled. The completion of the register will be an important phase of our Archive activity. It will serve future generations in their search for ancestry. Records, manuscripts and literature are not particularly exciting to view if a person is not directly interested in researching such material. We have aimed at making the contents of the building interesting to all visitors. Therefore we have accepted a number of artifacts which relate to immigrant history. These items provide visual objects for viewing. To name just a few items on display: a replica of Biskopskulla Kyrka in Sweden to the exact scale of 1:100, a "besman" made of wood from Sweden dating back to 1783 and one of iron, a replica of Utvandrarmonumentet in Karlshamn, numerous photographs, paintings, crystal and ceramic vases. We set up special displays from time to time, relating to famous Swedish persons. Bishop Hill
The Board selected Bishop Hill, Illinois as the site for the building. Many factors contributed to the selection. It was a Swedish community with widespread influence on Swedish immigration. It is almost geographically centered in the United States, and easily reached from all directions. The rural setting offers more stability than the urban migratory mode of life. Bishop Hill is a National and Illinois State Historic Site. The State owns several of the historic buildings, adding to the permanence of the community and contributing economically to the restoration of daily activity. This remarkable village was founded by immigrants from Sweden in 1846, exactly 50 years before our Order was founded. A religious dissident named Erik Jansson established the settlement based on Biblical principles. Jansson’s followers erected twenty communal buildings and the community ultimately owned 15,000 fertile acres, becoming an important industrial and farming village. After the death of Jansson, the community was dissolved and the land and property divided. Without strong leadership the village went to sleep for a hundred years, and thus remained unchanged until the 1960’s. Many of the buildings from the colony period still stand and some are occupied by direct descendant of the colonists. It is the most valuable monument to Swedish immigration that exists anywhere. The whole area for miles around is Swedish oriented.