03/13/2026
We recently posted about the 2026 winter newsletter. We wanted to share a portion of the newsletter so you can see the type of articles we create. If you aren't a current member please consider joining. This not only gets you some exciting articles about our past but also helps support our continued efforts and existence. Dues are $15 for those who get an emailed copy and $20 for a mailed hard copy. Message us if interested.
We will start by sharing the story of the current Mark Johnson family farm which has been in their family for over 100 years. You all know them for the corn and produce they sell but find out a little of this farms history!
The Johnson’s, A Family Story Written in Acres
By Jessica Borash
Looking at a Platt book from 1906, section 18, SE 1/4 in Aldrich township had the name A.A Houer neatly written over the 80-acre plot of land. In 1910 the name Johnson replaced it and has remained firmly and proudly stamped on Platt books ever since. Fifteen years ago, the Johnson family’s farm became one of Minnesota’s 11,000 Century Farms, an honor given by the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation and Minnesota State Fair to families that have owned and remained involved in farming their land for 100 years.
It all started when Adolph Johnson and his wife Christina left Norway to come to the United States. Adolph initially established his trade as a glass blower in Illinois, but after losing several of his brothers to the occupation, he deemed it too dangerous and sought a new trade. In 1910, the couple left Illinois for Minnesota to join Adolph’s brother William, the proprietor of a harness shop in Verndale in 1910. Though downturned markets and changes to the Great Northern Railroad line had dwindled Verndale’s once big booming economy, it was still a bustling and attractive village to plant roots.
Adolph found his homestead two miles north of Verndale. The property was purchased for $22.50 an acre and sat with the wide portion of the Wing River that had two years previously been home to the flooded Mill Dam on the farms’ western edge. The Wheat trail turned west along the north side of the farm site traveling down to the high riverbank following down to a fording place on the river a little below the mill dam site. The mill dam formed a sizeable pond that provided water power for the mill and served as a recreational site for swimming, fishing, and boating. The county's first pleasure boats launched from the mill pond. In 1910 near the mill dam sat the famed Grist Mill that once served area farmers and caravans of wagons that traveled the 55 mile Wheat Trail. Unfortunately, the Grist Mill met its end when lightning struck and burned it down.
Adolph built the original barn (the back half of the current barn), then added corn cribs and a grainery. The initial house was constructed at the northern boundary of the farm property. Adolph kept dairy cows, horses, pigs, and chickens, and used the land to grow corn, wheat, and oats used to feed his livestock. He also grew potatoes, which he sold in town. The Verndale region was recognized for producing potatoes of exceptional quality. It is said that in 1913, $9,000 worth of potatoes were sold out of Verndale. Farmers transported hundreds of loads of potatoes, with trucks lining up from every direction as they waited to unload at one of the five receiving stations.
Adolph and Christina had 8 children and farmed their land until 1950, when they retired. Their youngest son Elmer Donald Johnson, who had married the neighboring farm’s only daughter, LaVilla Mae Tresmer in 1946, became the new owner and operator. He and LaVilla had three children, and Elmer oversaw many changes to his family farm. He would become one of the area’s first farmers with irrigation. He also acquired the plot of land that the ruined Grist mill sat on in 1950. In 1952 Elmer commissioned help in moving his yellow house up from a homestead near the Wing River, setting it where the current house sits today. And in 1957, he added the front section to the barn too.
Retiring in 1974, Elmer moved on to sell seed corn to area farmers for Funk’s. Elmer’s only son Donald took over the farming operation. Donald married Barbara Kay Koth of Verndale, and together they raised four children on the farm where Donald grew up. He also saw changes to the family’s farm. He was one of the first in the area to branch out into soybeans. Additionally, at this point farming had started to shift away from being primarily a man’s job. Barb contributed to the operation by tending to a huge garden, milking, and feeding cows, and continuing to work at the school for many years. Mark (son and current owner) remembers that she did not drive tractors but was involved in just about everything else.
In 2021 Mark and Jessica took over and continue to operate the farm while raising their 4 children. Mark says that today the roles are even more shared. Jessica helps with many tasks including running irrigation, doing field work, and helping with cattle. He and Jessica also continue the family’s long standing and much-loved tradition of selling sweet corn. They have been selling sweet corn for 35 years, and over time, they've expanded to offer additional products like cut flowers.
The farm continues to be a true team effort across generations. Mark says the work goes to whoever is available and capable. Oftentimes Barb or Don’s vehicles can be seen parked in the farmyard, surely there because there continues to be more work than hands. Mark and Jessica take pride in continuing the family’s work and following in the footsteps that came before them. They say everything on the property has a story, from the 2nd largest oak tree in Wadena county, the wild horseradish that grows north of the house, the faint wagon tracks that cross the river, the old foundation of the Grist Mill, to the old corn binder and original parts of the current house and barn.
Mark says, “we are not just farming for profit (Mark owns Mark Johnson Construction as the lion’s share of their family’s income), we are farming to honor the people who came before us and to give something real to the ones that come after. It’s our family’s story, written in acres instead of words.” Mark and Jessica hope their farm remains in the family and continues to serve as a home place teaching hard work, learning and connection. Their wish is for future generations to continue to see their farm as a place for gathering family and creating memories and traditions. They hope to continue to adopt more sustainable and regenerative practices in an effort for the farm to remain economically viable for future generations.
Through all the changes, two things have remained the same for generations of Johnsons: there will always be challenges, but at least they have a great swimming hole.
