The Origin of Luxemburg in Central Minnesota

Luxemburg is a small town south of St. Cloud along Highway 15 located in the St. Augusta city limits.  I talked with longtime Luxemburg residents Norb Fischer and Paul Koshiol.  Fischer is 77 and has lived in town for most of his life besides the time he spend in the service.  Koshiol is 76 years old, he has lived on the family farm near Luxemburg most of his life besides the time he spend in the service.

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Luxemburg celebrated 150 years in 2009.  The community was settled in 1859 when people immigrated to the area from the countries of Luxembourg, Germany and other Germanic regions in Europe.   In the 1850s settlers were looking for available land and found it in Central Minnesota.  The settlers were given 160 acres of land by the U.S. Government to get started.   According to the book "Celebrating 150 Years of Faith and Community by Peggy A. Wilson.

In the early years, Luxemburg was called St. Wendelin or St. Wendel.  Records inconsistently use both names.  St. Wendelin is the name of the parish and the patron saint; St. Wendel is the name of the European town where St. Wendelin lived.  Later the name was changes to West St. Augusta, reflecting its location in the township.  Later still, the names of the post office and the town were changed to Luxemburg since most of the settlers came from Luxembourg, Europe.

According to local records settlers moved into the Luxemburg area as early as 1854 coming here from the Ohio Valley, Illinois, and Wisconsin after arriving from Europe.  The first mass at St. Wendelin Catholic Church in Luxemburg was celebrated on April 11, 1859.

Over the years Luxemburg has had lots of industry which includes numerous gas stations, a grocery store and a car dealership.  Koshiol explains that St. Wendelin Catholic Church and St. Wendelin Catholic School are important to the community and keep the community going.  Koshiol says when he was in grade school Luxemburg had 2 grocery stores with one burning down in the 1960s which is believed to be Franks.  He says where the Hayloft currently is was another grocery store called Bach's before being called Lummel's and now the Hayloft.  Fischer says both grocery stores in town also were gas filling stations. Koshiol and Fischer describe the Hayloft Bar and Grill as a great gathering place for Luxemburg residents.

Fischer and Koshiol explain that they had a Volkswagen Dealership that also did oil changes.  Both recall a post office in the community as well.

Luxemburg also has a long history of baseball.  The Luxemburg town team has existed for many years.  Both Koshiol and Fischer played on the team.  They indicated they were just Luxemburg and the name Brewers didn't come about until later.  Koshiol and Fischer say they had their best rivalries in baseball with St. Augusta and Pearl Lake.  Koshiol says since the 1970s Luxemburg has had a rec club that offers baseball and softball to young people starting off with tee ball.  He says a big event in Luxemburg in August is a family softball tournament which is also a fundraiser for the rec club.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Norb Fischer and Paul Koshiol it is available below.