Virtual New Sweden History Conference

10/27/2020 3:38 PM | ACRAsphere Blog Team

On Saturday, October 31, the American Swedish Historical Museum is hosting the annual New Sweden History Conference, which explores the history of the New Sweden Colony (1638-1655) and its legacy in colonial America. This year's conference, which is being held virtually, will focus on vernacular architecture in the Delaware River Valley prior to 1767. The presenters on the panel, listed below, include Wade Catts from ACRA member firm South River Heritage Consulting.

Panelists:

  • George Ambrose: “Hiding in Plain Sight: The Disappearance and Rediscovery of Material New Sweden” This presentation will look at the on-going “search for New Sweden”, focusing on the hopeful and—at times—controversial hunt for remnant material evidence found in churches, Swedish and American museum collections, and surviving historic houses.
  • Wade P. Catts: “‘The Walls Are Not Nearly as Good as They Appear on Paper’ Archaeologial Evidence of Fort Casimir/Trefaldighet/ Neiuer Amstel (c1651-1679)” Using documentary, topographical, contemporary fort design guidance, and archaeological data, this talk will illuminate Fort Casimir’s construction, layout, and configuration and subsequent searches for its location.
  • Jeroen van den Hurk: “Vernacular Architecture in the Delaware River Valley, ca. 1600-1767 ‘Built after the Dutch model’” Little is known about the architecture of New Netherland, and perhaps even less of that along the Delaware River. This talk will combine the information gleaned from the surviving Dutch colonial manuscripts, historic references to the built environment, and surviving buildings from the colonial period to piece together what the early settlers may have built.
  • Joseph Mathews: “The New Sweden Colonial Farmstead at Governor Printz Park in Tinicum” In a 1938 essay, Dr. Amandus Johnson described his hope to see Pennsylvania’s Printz Park “as a kind of Skansen” with a “Swedish farm from the 1600’s” made up of log buildings serving different purposes. The New Sweden Company (NSC) of New Jersey hired Swedish architectural preservationist, Gunnar Zetterquist, to build just such a farmstead in 1988. This talk provides an account of this ambitious project and its relocation to Governor Printz Park, connecting it to early-20th century Swedish open-air museums such as those envisioned by Artur Hazelius and Georg Karlin.
Registration is $35, and registrants will receive links to view each speaker’s recorded presentation prior of a live panel discussion. Participants may submit any questions they have for the presenters in advance which will be answered during the live panel discussion webinar on Saturday, October 31 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EDT. Register here!

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