106 Fremont Street South
Lake Benton, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Ernst Osbeck House

Statement of Significance:

The Ernest Osbeck House is significant for its association with Ernest Osbeck, long time grocery merchant and commercial and social developer, and as one of the most prominent residential structures in the city of Lake Benton, Ernest Osbeck was born in Alvesta, Sweden in September 1859 and learned the grocery business from his uncle. He immigrated to the United States and arrived in Lake Benton in 1884, where he was employed at different jobs before entering the grocery business in 1885. He purchased his first grocery store in 1889 and remained in the business until his retirement in the late 1930s. Besides running a lucrative grocery business, Osbeck became one of the original organizers of the Lake Benton Co-op Creamery Association, the Co-op Grain Elevator Association, the Lake Benton Building and Loan Association, the Farmer's State Bank and the Lake Benton Opera House. In 1887, at a cost of $3,600, he built a Queen Anne residence featuring the characteristic elements of irregular massing, intersecting roof line, and an octagonal turret. The house's modest but locally distinctive features and its location close to Lake Benton's central business district reflect the role Osbeck had in the commercial community. Its careful restoration has strengthened its position as a local landmark.