Written by Bryan Engelbrecht, IDNR Site Services Specialist II

From 1846 to 1861, approximately twelve hundred Swedes immigrated to the Bishop Hill Colony. Women made up almost two-thirds of the population. Men and women worked communally in the Colony’s industries and agricultural pursuits. Women manufactured bricks, dairy products, and linens, among other items for sale. They also served in leadership roles in many of the Colony’s economic pursuits. 

Sigrid Stenberg served as head of the Colony’s weaving and spinning industry. Born December 7, 1820, in Stenbo, Sweden, she became a follower of Eric Janson, a self-proclaimed prophet who broke with the Church of Sweden and immigrated to the United States and ultimately founded the Bishop Hill Colony. In 1846, she left her husband in Sweden and immigrated with family members to Bishop Hill. During the Colony period, she supervised the production of hundreds of thousands of yards of linen, and tens of thousands of rugs. After the Colony dissolved, she acquired and managed several farms in Henry County. Stenberg died on February 6, 1899.