831 3rd Avenue Northeast
Waseca, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - John W. Aughenbaugh House (Masonic Temple)

Statement of Significance:

The Aughenbaugh House is significant as the foremost example of domestic architecture related to the flour milling industry in Waseca, Minnesota in the fourth generation of family ownership.

J.W. Aughenbaugh was the master miller, and partner to William Everett in the EACO Flour Mill. Aughenbaugh entered the milling business in 1865 at Faribault, later practicing in Warsaw, Waterville, and Freeborn, joining in partnership with William Everett at Waseca in 1877. Aughenbaugh, as the principal miller, was an innovator in the art of the middling purifiers. With his skills, the EACO Mill became one of the more notable commercial milling operations in southern Minnesota.

The stately, brick residence retains complete exterior and interior integrity and stands as a prominent example of late 19th Century residential architecture in Waseca.

Tuscan Masonic Lodge bought the estate for $5,000 in 1931 and has been responsible for maintaining its probity.