Main Street History: Woodbury's 'Rock Solid' Spangenberg Farmstead

WOODBURY, MN — In 2021, Woodbury's only structure listed on the National Register of Historic Structures turned 150 years old. The current residents and local historians hosted a birthday party at the historic home.

If "Spangenberg" rings any bells, there's a good reason. Charles' brother, Frederick Spangenberg, built a similarly sturdy house in Saint Paul that's also on the historic register.

Frederick and Charles Spangenberg grew up in Limlingerode in the mid-1800s, a small farming community in Prussia. At that time, working-class German immigrants hoping to own land were moving to the Midwest by the thousands.

Reports of Minnesota's open fields ripe for farming proved too much to tempt Spangenberg brothers, and they devised a plan to move to the "New World."

Frederick arrived in St. Paul first, then Charles, and by 1863 their father and remaining siblings had arrived, according to the Minnesota Historical Society. Their mother had died in childbirth.

Settling in Minnesota, Frederick married Anna Sontag, another German immigrant. Charles later married Anna's sister, Elizabeth.

Frederick and Anna — now dairy farmers in St. Paul — built their Mississippi River limestone house at what is now 375 Mount Curve Boulevard.

Frederick's limestone supply was also used to build Charles and Elizabeth's farmstead in Woodbury Township, still located today at 9431 Dale Road.

Charles used horses and oxen to haul the limestone more than 15 miles from Frederick's farm, notes the city of Woodbury. The house took two years to build. When complete, Charles and Elizabeth put it to good use, raising 15 children.

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