The Johnsons—a Family Story Written in Acres

by Jessica Borash

This article is from the winter 2026 Verndale Historical Society Newsletter.

Looking at a plat book from 1906, Section 18, SE 1/4 in Aldrich Township had the name A.A Houer neatly written over the 80-acre plot of land.

In 1910, the name Johnson replaced it and has remained firmly and proudly stamped on plat books ever since.

Fifteen years ago, the Johnson family’s farm became one of Minnesota’s 11,000 Century Farms, an honor given by the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation and Minnesota State Fair to families that have owned and remained involved in farming their land for 100 years. 

It all started when Adolph Johnson and his wife, Christina, left Norway for the United States. Adolph initially established his trade as a glassblower in Illinois, but after losing several of his brothers to the occupation, he deemed it too dangerous and sought a new trade. 

In 1910, the couple left Illinois for Minnesota to join Adolph’s brother William, the proprietor of a harness shop in Verndale in 1910. Though down-turned markets and changes to the Great Northern Railroad line had dwindled Verndale’s once big, booming economy, it was still a bustling and attractive village to plant roots. 

Adolph found his homestead two miles north of Verndale. The property was purchased for $22.50 an acre and it sat on the wide portion of the Wing River, which had two years earlier been home to the flooded Mill Dam on the farm’s western edge. The Wheat Trail turned west along the north side of the farm site, traveling down to the high riverbank, following down to a fording place on the river a little below the mill dam site.

The mill dam formed a sizeable pond that provided water power for the mill and served as a recreational site for swimming, fishing, and boating. The county’s first pleasure boats were launched from the mill pond...

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