chain of Viking settlements concentrated on the southeast coast of Öland. Seafaring Viking cultures seemed to prefer the eastern side of the island, probably more due to the good beaches and ample forestation. Middle Ages through late seventeenth century While little recorded information exists for this period, Viking interments are dated to the High Middle Ages. By royal decree, detailed church records began to be kept by the latter 17th century in the form of births, deaths, baptisms and annual household censuses. For the entire Hulterstad district, these archives were prepared and maintained at the Hulterstad Church (Hulterstads kyrka). These records form a basis of estimating the population and lifespans of Alby residents at the end of the 17th century, since the records of Alby were kept distinct from other villages within the Hulterstad district. The late 17th century village population has been estimated at 35 to 60 individuals with life expectancy approximately 45 years. The oldest surviving buildings in Alby date to the 16th century; ironically they are Malmhouses, homes created for housing the poor and landless; in fact, these homes were built to very high standards of that early era and consist of heavy timber construction and interior fireplaces. The social and cultural values of early Swedes are evidenced by the willingness of the landed citizens to fund quality housing for the poorer members of the community as early as the 16th century; moreover, this is an early proof of the industriousness of the poor to build substantial housing on land they did not own. 1680s to 1870s Population continued to expand, but farming ceased to be the sole form of livelihood, even though it remained the dominant form of work. The village evolved specialists such as blacksmith and tailor. The village blacksmith's shop was constructed in this era on the west side of the coast highway, probably in the 18th century, and is extant as of 2006; it has been converted to a small museum. It is of interest that the smithy structure had to be erected outside of the 17th century drystone town wall, because the activity posed a fire risk to others. This era began the wave of American emigration that brought large numbers of Swedes to the New World. In addition to extensive handwritten records kept by the Hulterstad Church during this time, detailed records of ships' passages carrying immigrants were kept, and they