Luther Gage Johnson Store (1878)

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GOOD PUBLICITY BRINGS NEW MERCHANT TO MARCY-HOLMES • • •

• 601 University Avenue SE
• Architect Unknown
• Queen Anne-style
• Narrated by Lucy Nieboer •

The proprietor of a New Hampshire general store, Luther Gage Johnson, at age 41, left his comfortable New England life to seek an even better one in Minnesota. The reason? He’d read a glowing newspaper account of St. Anthony that so intrigued him that he sold his store and moved here with his wife, three children, brother and brother-in-law. The year was 1854.

Shortly after arriving, Johnson opened a furniture factory on Main Street. Then, in 1857, he opened a grocery and dry goods store, also on Main Street, where the Pillsbury “A” Mill stands today. Finally, in 1878 Johnson moved his store into this Queen Anne-style building.

A community leader, Johnson helped start First Congregational Church on 5th Street SE and 8th Avenue SE. Stained glass windows donated in his honor still grace the building.