Swedish Granary

Sweden's first expedition into The New World (the American colonies) launched in 1637, as Sweden chartered the New Sweden Company in an effort to compete with French and English traders. Once established, the Company brought over 600 Swedish settlers into what is now Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, establishing there Fort Christina, Fort Nya Elfborg, and Fort Nya Gothenborg, respectively.

Though evidence of these early Swedish colonies can be found today in town names such as Swedesboro, NJ, physical structures such as the Granary are incredibly rare; the Greenwich Swedish Granary is the only structure of its kind known to still exist in North America. It was built with Atlantic White Cedar logs, which though not a particularly strong wood is very resistant to decay. The Granary consists of two rooms on its main floor, with stairs and an upper loft above on of the lower rooms. Fifty-nine original logs remain of the original 17th-century structure, though restorations to the building's roof and and floors were completed in 1979.

Swedish Granary, Cumberland County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Accessed September 13th 2020. http://cumberlandnjart.org/cumberland-historic-sites/swedish-granary/.