Swedish American Museum& Historical Society
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The museum's giant painted Dala horse breathing and turning its head

Swedesburg, Iowa · Swedish American Museum & Historical Society

Välkommen.Step into Sweden on the Iowa prairie.

Three historic buildings. One giant red horse. Generations of Swedish-American stories.

Plan your visit Enter the story

107 James Ave, Swedesburg, Iowa

319.254.2317

Tue, Thu–Sat · 9 AM – 4 PM

Our mission

A nonprofit organization celebrating Swedish heritage and history in Swedesburg, Iowa.

Emigrants standing at a ship's rail in the 1860s

Chapter one

The Voyage

In the mid-1800s, Swedish families packed their lives into painted trunks and crossed an ocean toward a promise.

An 1870s Swedish settlement on the Iowa prairie at sunset

Chapter two

The Prairie

They established some of the first Swedish settlements in the Midwest, here in Southeast Iowa — building churches, farms, and a community that endures.

Dust drifting through god rays in a 19th-century tin smith shop
A red horse-drawn huckster wagon on a prairie road at sunset

Chapter three

The Craft

Step inside the original tin smith shop, see the reconstructed Huckster wagon, and climb to the tiny upstairs apartment where Berg once lived.

Read the museum's full story
The giant red Dala horse rearing up and galloping across a meadow

The horse awakens

Our horse has a story, too.

Dala horses have been hand-carved and painted in Dalarna, Sweden, for centuries. Ole — our 14-foot fiberglass giant, who came to us from Wisconsin — is the largest in Iowa. Come stand beside him, then take home a genuine hand-carved Dala horse from Dalarna in our gift shop.

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Living traditions

The Swedish year, still kept.

Folk-costumed dancers circling a midsummer maypole

01

Midsommar

Flower crowns, fiddles, and dancing around the maypole on the longest day of the year.

Saint Lucia candle procession in a wooden church

02

Sankta Lucia

Candlelight in the darkest week of winter.

An artisan hand-painting a red Dala horse

03

Dala horse painting

Kurbits flowers, brushed by hand, one petal at a time.

Coffee and cinnamon buns on a checked tablecloth

04

Fika

Coffee, cardamom, and cinnamon buns — the Swedish art of slowing down.

A nyckelharpa player on a midsummer evening

05

Nyckelharpa

The keyed fiddle — the sound of Swedish folk music for centuries.

A horse-drawn sleigh in a snowy Swedish village at dusk

06

Vinter

Sleigh bells, advent stars, and snow on red cottages.

These are Swedish traditions kept across generations.

See the museum's annual events →

Folk-costumed dancers circling a midsummer maypole
“Sweden took root on the Iowa prairie — and it still blooms here.”
Museum gift shop shelves with Dala horses, books, and Swedish treats

Gift shop

Take a little Sweden home.

Books, Swedish memorabilia, and treats. Call or email for current availability before stopping by.

Visit the shop

Then & now · 125 years

From general store to museum.

In the fall of 1901, John and Carrie Anderson kept shop at the Anderson & Nelson general store in Swedesburg. The store later moved its business — building and all — north to Olds, Iowa. In 1928, local farmers formed the Farmers Union Exchange on Swedesburg's main street, and it served the community until 1976. Today its buildings are home to the Swedish American Museum.

Sepia photograph, fall 1901, of the Anderson & Nelson general store in Swedesburg, Iowa, with people, including a little boy, standing on the front porch.
Fall 1901 — The Anderson & Nelson store. The handwriting reads “John & Carrie Anderson store in Swedesburg.” The little boy, about three years old here, was the father of Carol, who shared this photo with the museum.

125 years

The Swedish American Museum storefront today, with blue and yellow awnings and the giant red Dala horse Ole beside it.
2026 — The Swedish American Museum, 107 James Ave, with Ole standing guard.
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Support the museum

Keep the story alive.

The Swedish American Museum and Historical Society is a nonprofit organization run by volunteers. Your gift helps preserve the buildings, artifacts and stories of Swedesburg's Swedish settlers.

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Drone view over a misty Swedish lake with red cottages at dawn

Plan your visit

Your visit begins at 107 James Ave.

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