New Upsala (Swedish: ''Nya Uppsala'') also referred to as the Pine Lake Settlement, was an early pioneer
Swedish-American community in
Wisconsin. The short-lived settlement of Swedish immigrants was founded by
Gustaf Unonius
Gustaf Elias Marius Unonius also referred to as Gustav Unonius, Gustave Unonius, Gustavus Unonius, or Gustov Unonius (25 August 1810 – 14 October 1902) was a pioneer and priest in the American Midwest. Unonius served as a catalyst for early Sc ...
. It was located in the north central section of
Waukesha County, Wisconsin, near the
town of Merton, outside
Delafield, in the area now incorporated as the villages of
Chenequa
Chenequa is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It encompasses all of Pine Lake, a southern portion of North Lake, and the western portion of Beaver Lake. The population was 526 at the 2020 census. The village was incorporated ...
and
Nashotah.
Founding
Gustaf Unonius
Gustaf Elias Marius Unonius also referred to as Gustav Unonius, Gustave Unonius, Gustavus Unonius, or Gustov Unonius (25 August 1810 – 14 October 1902) was a pioneer and priest in the American Midwest. Unonius served as a catalyst for early Sc ...
, an immigrant from Sweden, had a dream to establish a Swedish cultural and intellectual center on the frontier. He staked a claim on the east shore of Pine Lake (), naming it New Upsala after the historic Swedish university city of
Uppsala. By 1842, he and several associates had begun building the new settlement called Nya Uppsala. By 1848, several families had relocated to the community and a log cabin had been completed to house the Scandinavian parish at Pine Lake.
Shortly thereafter Unonius relocated to
Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, where he became an
Episcopalian
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...
priest. Much of the community subsequently disbanded. He had attracted an assortment of nobles, theologians, merchants, teachers and military officers. The choice of land was not a practical location for a settlement. The lake shore was stony and the soil unproductive. The colony failed almost as soon as it was started.
The Scandinavian parish at Pine Lake
The Scandinavian parish at Pine Lake was established March 3, 1844, with the dedication of Holy Innocents Cemetery. Its
log cabin
A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers.
Eur ...
church was constructed and dedicated in 1848. In 1850 the congregation split, with one group forming St. John's English Lutheran Church of Stone Bank in
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The other part of the congregation remained at the original log church and cemetery grounds. In 1864 this original church became known as Holy Innocents Episcopal Church,
Nashotah. In 1895, the last survivor of the original Scandinavian parish legally transferred the land to Holy Innocents. In 1962, Holy Innocents merged with Grace-Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in
Hartland, Wisconsin. In 1975, the name was changed to St. Anskar’s Episcopal Church. Today there remains an active Holy Innocents cemetery on the former church site located on the west side of Highway C, approximately 1½ miles north of Nashotah exit off of Hwy 16.
At the request of the
United States Ambassador to Sweden, the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin commissioned the writing of a history of the New Upsala settlement. Completed by Filip A. Forsbeck and published during 1936, the history placed considerable reliance in Unonius's memoirs.
[Filip A. Forsbeck,]
New Upsala, the first Swedish settlement in Wisconsin
, ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'', vol. 19, no. 2. (1935–1936)
References
Further reading
*Forsbeck, Filip A.
New Upsala, the First Swedish Settlement in Wisconsin'. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 1936.
*Stark, William F., ''Pine Lake''. Sheboygan, Wisconsin: Zimmerman Press, 1984.
External links
St. John’s Lutheran church at Stone BankSt. Anskar’s Episcopal ChurchHoly Innocents Cemetery
{{Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Ghost towns in Wisconsin
Geography of Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Swedish-American culture in Wisconsin
Populated places established in 1842
1842 establishments in Wisconsin Territory