A Cosmopolitan Place – Larson Family

Many Swedish immigrants came to McLean County, some directly from Sweden, some from other parts of America. Most moved here in order to improve their economic status. Many ended up working in the coal mines or at the Chicago & Alton Railroad shops.

Emma Hedlund was only 22 and spoke no English. But in 1881, determined to come to America, she set off on her own.

Like many others, Emma was most likely encouraged by friends or relatives to come to Bloomington where jobs were available. She arrived in the U.S. in July and came directly to Bloomington.

Emma found work as a domestic servant in the home of the widow Malinda Howe. Depending upon the generosity of her employer, Emma would have earned somewhere between $2.23 and $2.73 per week plus room and board. That equals $311 to $406 plus room and board, adjusted for inflation in 2014.

Emma undoubtedly met Gustav A. Larson at a social or religious function organized by the Swedish Lutheran Church.

Gustav was also single when he came to the U. S. from Sweden in 1882. He joined the Swedish Lutheran Church to be with others like himself who practiced the same religion, spoke the same language, and were from Sweden.

Gustav and Emma married in 1885 and set up house at 910 W. Olive Street, close to the mine where Gustav worked.

Emma no longer worked as a domestic servant. Instead she managed the home and raised their two daughters, Lillie and Esther. The Larsons remained active in the Swedish Lutheran Church throughout their lives.

Black and white portrait of a light-skinned young woman with a white dress, necklace, and big white bow on the back of her head, sticking out of the sides of her head. — Emma and Gustav’s daughter, Lillie Larson.

A frilly white long-sleeved dress with lace around the shoulders and neck. — View this object in Matterport

Both of Emma and Gustav’s daughters, Lillie and Esther, wore this infant dress, circa 1890.

Donated by: Alice Thomas Van Ness Brown
814.1557

Stevensonville

Many Swedes preferred to be surrounded by people like themselves and to live close to work. Because of this, Stevensonville and the surrounding neighborhoods were where many of them settled.

plat map with an area of the West side of Bloomington shaded, indicating the neighborhood. — Learn more about the places on this map of Stevensonville below.

Black and white photo of a large group of children standing outside a two-story brick schoolhouse with a large American flag. They have their hands raised in the air, as if they were presenting the flag for the photo. — A. The Sarah Raymond School (originally named Stevenson School) opened in 1877. The children who attended this school were the sons and daughters of the laborers who lived in Stevensonville, and included Welsh, German, Swedish, Polish, and Irish immigrants.

Black and white photo of a light colored church with wood siding and tall steeple. — B. Stevensonville’s Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1883 by four Swedish families who had been holding prayer meetings in their homes. They met in a building on Packard Street before finding a home for the church at 119 Stevenson Street. When Stevensonville was incorporated into the city of Bloomington, Stevenson Street became an extension of Olive Street, and the address changed to 1306 W. Olive Street. The church pictured here was dedicated in 1903. For many years, the church was served by student pastors, many from Illinois Wesleyan University.

In 1872 workers at the Kewanee mine were offered what appeared to be a good work opportunity at the Bloomington mine. But the mine owners deceived them.

“They were entirely ignorant of the miners’ strike until they arrived or they would not have come. The McLean County Coal Company had paid their transportation, provided home and work: they were there and there was nothing to do but remain, suffer the consequences of strike breakers and make the best of it.”
— The Daily Pantagraph, June 22, 1913

Black and white illustration of a brick building with two large smokestacks. A train car can be seen on the bottom left of the photo with a pile of rubble, likely coal, on the right side. — C. Organized by Matthew T. Scott, the McLean County Coal Company opened in 1867.

Large 4-story brick factory building. Between the 2nd and 3rd story it says beich chocolates and written vertically on the top half of building says bride elect caramels in background there is a large smokestack with smoke coming out. — D. The Bloomington Manufacturing Company produced carriages in this factory as early as 1889. From 1895 to 1899 the building housed the Lancaster Caramel Company, owned by Milton Hershey. In 1899 Paul Beich purchased the building for the production of Beich’s candies. All three companies employed workers who lived in Stevensonville.

Black and white photo of a white church with wood siding and tall steeple in the front center. — E. Though not in Stevensonville, the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was very important to the Swedish community. Founded in 1872 and located at 803 W. Olive Street, services were conducted in Swedish into the early 1920s. Today it survives as St. John's Lutheran Church on Emerson Street.
F. The Larson home was located at 910 W. Olive Street — just around the corner from The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church.