This abandoned building is a haunting reminder of what once was a prosperous railroad town in Big Stone County MN.
Built in 1912, 100 years later, the old Luchsinger store is open to the elements and ripe for blogs.
From the "Ghosts of Minnesota blog: (
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"WHY WAS THIS STRUCTURE BUILT AS A FORTRESS?
April 18, 2016 Troy Larson Comments 56 Comments
As we were planning a shoot that would include some Minnesota and Iowa places, we decided to visit Johnson, Minnesota, in Big Stone County, not far from the South Dakota border, to investigate one structure.
The aerial view of the structure in our mapping software seemed to indicate a rectangular building with some kind of bell tower or steeple at one corner, so we marked it and made plans to visit under the assumption we would find an old fire station, or perhaps a school or church. When we arrived in April of 2016, we were very surprised to find something quite different.
This abandoned structure stands on the northwest edge of Johnson, Minnesota, and it is the first structure of its kind that we’ve ever stumbled upon. From the front, the ground floor of this building looks like many of the other places we’ve photographed, like a pioneer-era store of some kind. The corner tower, however, appears to have been constructed to provide defense against unknown assailants. Reinforced rifle slots in the north and west walls hint at ominous intent.
The name J. Luchsinger on the facade of the building, with the date 1912, might be a clue. Searches reveal two Luchsinger men, John and Jacob, fought in the Civil and Indian Wars of 1861-65 (Fort Abercrombie, North Dakota is not far away, and was besieged in 1862). Another search result revealed an ad from 1922 in the Ortonville Independent which lists Jacob Luchsinger as a merchant in nearby Correll, Minnesota.
Was Jacob Luchsinger the namesake of this building? Why was it built as a fortress? If you know the history of this place, we would love to hear it in the comments below.
Update: There is also a genealogy search result that shows a Jacob Luchsinger who was born in Minnesota in 1848, and died in 1916, location unknown.
Looking at the windows, high on the west wall, Terry had another observation… maybe it was a jail? Another possibility.
56 thoughts on “Why Was This Structure Built as a Fortress?
Sherrie Stableski says: April 18, 2016 at 10:32 am
I grew up in Johnson born in 1956. All I have ever know it to be was a grocery store owned by Jacob and his wife Jessie. After Jacobs death Jessie married Earl Larson.
Jody Olson Dahn says: April 19, 2016 at 8:19 pm
The Bears Den closed down a few years ago the building is still there it’s kind of a fortress.My grandmother worked in the grocery store for a very long time Elsie Mattson. Her son John and his ex-wife Jean actually purchased the grocery store from Jessie. Elsie ran that store until it closed in the eighties. Elsie lived in the old hotel directly east of the store where she was known as the town grandmother as she babysat all of the local children. On Sundays everybody would come to Johnson after church to pick up their Sunday paper from Elsie’s freezer in her porch. The old store although at one time was a beautiful structure time has not been kind to it. My grandfather and father also owned the elevators in Johnson Roy and Larry. Olson, he had the fertilizer plant as well. I have also been told there was a cattle feedlot on the northeast side of town as well.
Linda Cole says: April 20, 2016 at 3:16 am
No, my parents bought it from Jessie in 1958, Louis and Gretchen Vogt. They had it until the 70’s when your family bought it. I’ve written more in other posts here.
Jody Olson Dahn says:April 20, 2016 at 11:52 pm
This past summer my Aunt Jean who is the executor of Elsie’s estate wanted me to buy the property that the store is sitting on. Along with the papers that I read included the contract for deed from Jean Mattson who was married to John Mattson and Jessie so maybe somewhere in there Jesse got the store back or something because they definitely bought it from Jessie
Jesse says: April 18, 2016 at 10:37 am
Interesting. First link below states that John was the father and Jacob was the son, and that they moved to California in 1861, having spent just 11 years in Minnesota. John passed in 1888 and Jacob was elected to the California State Senate a year later. The name of the father’s furniture making business was J. B. Luchsinger & Son, which was dissolved a year before John’s death.
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Beth Gillespie Hallauer says: April 18, 2016 at 12:30 pm
I grew up in Johnson and lived on a farm two miles north from 1964 – 1990. We went to the two room parochial elementary school just a couple blocks away from the store. When I was young the store was a grocery store and we used to ride our bikes there to buy penny candy after school and ice cream treats in the summer months. Jessie was the proprietress when I was young and then it was bought by Louie and Gretchen Vogt who operated it until maybe the mid-late 1970s when it was closed. My mom said that they built it like they did because of the Native American uprisings in the Dakotas and to withstand prairie fires back in the day. My mom was born in 1940 and grew up just north a couple miles and she doesn’t remember it ever being anything but a grocery store with maybe a little coffee/meeting room in the back. Right next to the store to the south was Twisty’s Bar and then Juergans Hardware and Winter Brothers Implement dealership and the Post Office. Back in it’s heyday there were 300+ people living in Johnson. There was a grain elevator, feedmill, hotel, lumber yard and another liquor store/bar
Tom Schott says: April 18, 2016 at 3:03 pm
This structure was build by Great Grandfather, Frank Schott for Luchsinger grocery. It was build this was because that is the way he built everything. There is a building in Chokio that was the old fire house and is built very simalar. Also the “Old stone house” in Chokio and the “Old Stone Barn” south of Chokio on the county line road are all build about the same. He also build many bridges and water tanks that are still in use today. So, a Fortress to hold off indians? no, Just built the same way he build everything else… To last!
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Savanna Sullivan says: April 18, 2016 at 9:27 pm
I agree with you Tom, I have always been told by my grandfather, Wally Wulff, it was a grocery store. I also agree with the comment about the way he built his cement buildings, they do all look very similar. The stone barn has always been my most favorite place to go when it had all of it’s structures! My grandfather also has a stone fence and water/feed all in one still standing after the tornado in 96. That fence also has the same looks at the top of the ‘grocery store’ does. Really have admired his work with cement, because I have also worked with cement for a couple years, really neat!
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Linda Cole says: April 18, 2016 at 11:57 pm
No, Jessie had sold it to my parents in 1958, she never worked in there after Jake died. I helped my mom several summers. You may be remembering my mother, Gretchen Vogt. I’m pretty sure it was always a grocery store, I never heard anything about a bank. The guy, Schott that built it just liked to be unique, and he did wonderful cement work. Lots of memories and stories. So many that would remember are gone. . . "
Regarding "LITTLE MINNESOTA':
Since 1973, all incorporated towns were declared officially to be ‘cities’ by an act of the Minnesota Legislature. Ever wonder about those ‘little cities’? This series of 100 waymarks will take you to all corners of the great state of Minnesota to visit the 100 smallest of the incorporated cities in the state. All have a great story to tell.
This is the 42nd of 100 of the cities described in the book LITTLE MINNESOTA. Johnson is a city in extreme northeastern Big Stone County. Once a vast treeless prairie, settlers began arriving in this area, which was called Johnson Station as early as 1880.
Located on the precursor to the Great Northern Railroad, the city was named in honor of a railroad section foreman. The city was incorporated in 1903 and is currently the home to 23 persons. The village once had a bank, a cream station, several stores, a hotel, a school, a lumber company, a livery stable, three grain elevators, and a blacksmith, and a station of the Great Northern Railway.
David ‘Andy Bear’ Anderson put the city of Johnson on the map with his collection of vintage fire trucks. He often gives the residents free rides on birthdays, anniversaries and other special days. He once participated in the Casselton, North Dakota ‘Fire Truck Parade’, one of 181 fire trucks that participated in the Guinness World Record event.
This series of waymarks is tuned to getting people to visit these wonderful small communities before they disappear completely. To validate your ‘find’, please post a photo of you with your GPS at the coordinates and please relate a little tidbit about what you learned about the town and its people that is not in this narrative or the book. You can learn more about ‘LITTLE MINNESOTA’ by logging on to (
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