Upsala College dates back to 1893, the child of the Swedish race and the Lutheran Church. Swedes first came to America in 1638 and founded a colony in Delaware and southern New Jersey. "New Sweden" was, however, conquered by the Dutch,who in turn were forced to surrender to the English. For a time Swedish communities maintained their individuality through their churches, served mainly by pastors from their homeland. Ultimately these Lutheran ministers were replaced by Episcopalians; thus the "Old Swedes" churches still existing in Wilmington and South Philadelphia are now used by active Episcopalian congregations.

Not until the 1840's did Scandinavian immigrants arrive in the United States territory in considerable numbers. A few remained in the East, but the great majority settled in the Mississippi Valley, particularly in Minnesota. The autumn of 1849 brought the first pastor, Lars P. Esbjorn, who had been ordained in Sweden. By 1860 he had been joined by four others: Tuve Nilsson Hasselquist, Erland Carlsson, Jonas Swensson, and C.C.T. Andren. The Church of Sweden probably resembles most the Episcopal Church, but all five of these clergymen belonged to the Puritan and Pietistic wing of their church, which had Calvanistic tendencies. At first they cooperated with all of the other Lutherans, but, in 1860, they were among the original founders of the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod of North America. For its first ten years there were considerable Norwegian and Danish elements in this synod. When these withdrew in 1870, the word Swedish