Hooverville – A Forgotten History
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11 April – 11 October 2026
“Hooverville” was the name given to the shanty towns that emerged in American cities during the Great Depression of the 1930s — a reference to President Herbert Hoover and the policies widely believed to have contributed to the crisis.
On 11 April, The House of Emigrants in Växjö opens the exhibition Hooverville – a forgotten history: Nordic Immigrants in the Shantytowns of Seattle.
In 1930, around 10,000 Swedish-born people lived in Seattle. When the Depression struck, the city was hit hard: demand for timber, ships and aircraft declined, and unemployment rose to 25 percent. Unemployed forestry and agricultural workers—many from Sweden, Norway and Finland—moved into the city in search of work.
This exhibition highlights a lesser-known aspect of migration. Instead of the familiar success stories, it turns attention to Nordic emigrants who lived in Seattle’s shanty towns—in the shadow of the Depression.
The exhibition is written by historian Hans Wallengren, associate researcher and docent in history at Lund University, together with author Ola Larsmo. It is produced by The Swedish Emigrant Institute in collaboration with the National Nordic Museum.
