The Bishop Hill Colony

A Swedish utopia on the prairie frontier

Bishop Hill Colony Steeple Building, home of Bishop Hill Heritage Association and archives

Giving a talk at the Colony Dairy Building in Bishop Hill

Today’s village of Bishop Hill, in northeastern Illinois, is the hometown I never had…

My mother grew up in Bishop Hill, and as a child in the 1950's I could still hear heavy Swedish accents and smell coffee and dopp whenever we visited.

The Bishop Hill Colony was founded in 1846 by a group of Swedish Lutheran dissenters, the first mass migration from Sweden. The colony remained a commune for twelve years, until its dissolution.

Today, the village of 111 residents is a state and national historic monument, with some of the original Colony buildings open to visitors.

This tiny village boasts 7 museums, 4 restaurants, and numerous shops. A free self-guided walking tour is available at https://www.visitbishophill.com/bhvisitorguide.html.

My novel Upheaval explores the causes behind this early Swedish immigration to America. The sequel, Journeying, follows a young family as they cross the sea and make their way to the new Colony of Bishop Hill.

The late Cheryl Wexell Dowell, Colony descendant and historian/archivist for the Bishop Hill Heritage Association

Interviewing my mom’s cousin, the late Wayne Ericson, in Bishop Hill

Colony Blacksmith shop, built 1857