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Turnblad, Swan (1860–1933)

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Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad, ca. 1915.

Swan Turnblad, ca. 1915.

Swan Turnblad was a prominent Swedish Minnesotan and the manager, editor, and publisher of Svenska Amerikanska Posten, a Swedish American newspaper. He donated his family home and the newspaper to the newly founded American Institute of Swedish Arts, Literature and Science (later renamed the American Swedish Institute) near the end of his life.

Swan Turnblad was born October 7, 1860, in Vislanda, Småland, Sweden. When he was about eight years old, he and his family moved to the United States, and eventually to Vasa, Minnesota. He was interested in printing from an early age, and in 1877 he obtained a printing press and printed a book on arithmetic after learning to set type on his own.

In 1879, at the age of nineteen, Turnblad moved to Minneapolis and worked as a typesetter at various Swedish-American newspapers, including Svenska Folkets Tidning. He was a strong advocate for temperance, and around 1880 became the chief organizer of the first Scandinavian temperance society in Minneapolis.

In April of 1883, Swan married Christina Gabrielsdotter, who was a fellow Swedish immigrant, and in 1884 their daughter, Lillian, was born. In 1886, he became the manager of Svenska Amerikanska Posten, which was struggling.

By 1889, Turnblad had become the primary stockholder, and publisher, of Svenska Amerikanska Posten, which he helped develop into the largest Swedish American newspaper in the country. In 1894, he began to shift the focus of the paper away from prohibition and temperance to independent Democratic politics. This helped increase circulation from 1,400 to 40,000 by the end of the century and to 55,000 in 1915.

Turnblad was an innovator, and became the first Swedish publisher to set his paper on a linotype machine. He was also the first owner of a Mergenthaler press and the first Swedish newspaper publisher to introduce political cartoons and color illustrations.

In 1897, in a controversial deal, Christina Turnblad bought the paper from her husband. Turnblad then gradually bought stock from shareholders (who were under the impression that the business was failing) before buying the paper back from his wife in 1901. Once the paper’s success was apparent, many were upset and accused Turnblad of deceiving them.

In the spring of 1899, Turnblad purchased a Waverly Electric car, which was the first commercially produced automobile owned by a Minneapolis resident. In 1899, Turnblad also purchased property that extended into what is now Loring Park in order to build a new house for himself and his family. The Minneapolis Park Board opposed his purchase.

After a legal battle that reached the Minnesota Supreme Court, Turnblad conceded to the Park Board. He bought six lots on Park Avenue and began planning his new home in 1903. It was ready for occupancy in 1908.

Turnblad was involved in a number of lawsuits from 1908 to 1911 in which shareholders claimed fraud and deception and sued him for various amounts of money. Turnblad avoided additional lawsuits in the years following 1911.

1915 was a milestone year for the paper and for Turnblad. The paper reached 55,000 subscribers and moved into its own building. In 1920, he sold Svenska Amerikanska Posten to Magnus Martinson for $150,000. After Martinson drove the paper to the brink of bankruptcy, the board of directors asked Turnblad to return as president, general manager, publisher, and editor in 1927.

For many years, Turnblad expressed interest in donating his home to a Swedish cultural institution. After a series of conversations with the Swedish consul, Nils Leon Jaenson, and one letter of encouragement from the Crown Prince of Sweden, Turnblad decided to donate his mansion and Svenska Amerikanska Posten to the newly founded “American Institute of Swedish Arts, Literature and Science.” Turnblad served as the first president of the Institute from 1929 to 1933.

Turnblad died on May 17, 1933, at the age of seventy-two, at Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. The funeral was held on Saturday, May 20, at Lakewood chapel.

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American Swedish Institute. Swan J. Turnblad Residence. National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form.
http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/71000436.pdf

Anderson, Philip J., and Dag Blanck, eds. Swedes in the Twin Cities: Immigrant Life and Minnesota’s Urban Frontier. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001.

Gump, Gertrude. The Story of Swan Johan Turnblad. Minneapolis: American Swedish Institute, 1969. Reprinted 1976.

Lewish, Anne Gillespie. The American Swedish Institute—Turnblad’s Castle. Minneapolis: American Swedish Institute, 1999.

Millett, Larry. Minnesota’s Own: Preserving Our Grand Homes. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2014.

Nelson, Olaf Nickolaus. History of the Scandinavians and Successful Scandinavians in the United States. Minneapolis: O. N. Nelson, 1900. https://archive.org/stream/cu31924032767083#page/n589/mode/2up

“Swan Turnblad Rites Saturday.” Minneapolis Tribune, May 18, 1933.

Related Images

Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad, ca. 1915.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad, ca. 1915.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad at about age sixteen, ca. 1876.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad at about age sixteen, ca. 1876.
Black and white photograph of the Turnblad family (left to right): Christina, Lillian, and Swan, ca. 1890.
Black and white photograph of the Turnblad family (left to right): Christina, Lillian, and Swan, ca. 1890.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad, longtime manager and publisher of Svenska Amerikanska Posten ca. 1890s.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad, longtime manager and publisher of Svenska Amerikanska Posten ca. 1890s.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad, ca. 1900 driving his Waverly automobile—the first commercially available car owned by a Minnesotan.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad, ca. 1900 driving his Waverly automobile—the first commercially available car owned by a Minnesotan.
Black and white photograph of the home of Swan Turnblad and his family (2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis) ca. 1907.
Black and white photograph of the home of Swan Turnblad and his family (2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis) ca. 1907.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad in his office at the Svenska Amerikanska Posten, ca. 1920.
Black and white photograph of Swan Turnblad in his office at the Svenska Amerikanska Posten, ca. 1920.

Turning Point

In 1886, Turnblad becomes the manager of Svenska Amerikanska Posten.

Chronology

1860

Swan Turnblad is born in Vislanda, Småland, Sweden, on October 7.

1868

The Turnblad family moves to the United States.

1869

The family arrives in Vasa, Minnesota.

1879

Swan moves to Minneapolis at the age of nineteen to work as a typesetter.

1883

Swan marries a fellow Swedish immigrant, Christina Gabrielsdotter, in April.

1884

Swan and Christina’s only child, Lillian, is born.

1886

Swan becomes the manager of Svenska Amerikanska Posten.

1897

Christina Turnblad purchases Svenska Amerikanska Posten from her husband.

1899

Swan purchases a Waverly electric car. It is the first commercially produced automobile owned by a Minneapolis resident.

1901

Amid controversy, Swan buys Svenska Amerikanska Posten back from Christina.

1908

After five years of construction, the Turnblad mansion is ready for occupancy.

1920

In October, Turnblad sells the paper to Magnus Martinson after its circulation declines.

1927

The paper’s board of directors asks Turnblad to return to his duties as president, general manager, publisher, and editor.

1929

Turnblad donates his family home, and Svenska Amerikanska Posten, to the American Institute of Swedish Arts, Literature and Science (later renamed the American Swedish Institute.)

1933

On May 17, Turnblad dies in Minneapolis at Northwestern Hospital.