This article studies the role of the village teacher in three rural parishes in eighteenth-century western Sweden. Earlier research has shown that the clergy and parents were important in reaching high literacy rates in early modern Sweden. However, many parishes were sparsely populated, and many villages were far from the church, affecting teaching access. The Church of Sweden also had to use other educational strategies in these parishes. By studying traces in church accounts, visitation protocols and other handwritten sources, this article helps us better understand the village teacher's role and the different sources of income this role could provide. It becomes clear that popular education had different strategies and was much more developed than existing research has shown. The role of the village teacher is part of the explanation of why Sweden successfully spread literacy.