c.1883 Minnesota Fixer Upper Under $20K ~ Sold

424 W College St, Albert Lea, MN 56007 $19,550 Sold for $12,000

424a

OHU50K NOTES

This c. 1883 fixer upper is located in Albert Lea, Minnesota (pop. 18,016), about 90 miles south of the Twin Cities. If you love water, the town is in the midst of several lakes.

I was curious about the unusual town name and found it was named after Albert Miller Lea, a topographer with the United States Dragoons. Captain Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone, was the scout for Lea’s unit.

House History

I was only able to go back as far as 1930 when Jens Christiansen, a state highway maintenance man, lived here with his wife Emma and sons Earl and Elmer. The family owned a radio set, and the house was worth $3,000, approximately $46,300 in today’s dollars. According to the 1940 US Census, the Christensen family was still living in the house at that time, along with two boarders.

The US Census records as far back as 1880 indicate that Albert Lea was filled with immigrants from Denmark and Norway, many with the last name of Christensen. I don’t know if he was an ancestor to our Jens Christensen, but a Jens Christensen was one of the original officers of the town. Another Jens Christensen was tried for selling liquor to a minor in 1883, the year this house was built.

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