Eitzen Museum
The Eitzen Museum contains two floors of artifacts from Eitzen’s history, and is located in the old Christian Bunge Jr. Store. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum is operated by the Houston County Historical Society, and is open by appointment only. To set up an appointment, please call 507-495-3197.
The building is made of solid stone quarried in the Winnebago Valley a few miles from Eitzen. The walls are 26 inches at the base and taper to 18 inches at the top. The builder, Christian Krueger, was paid $800.00 for his work.
Christian Bunge, Jr.
History of C. Bunge Jr., and his store
In 1866, Christian Bunge Jr. starts a store in a log building in Eitzen. In 1868, he is appointed postmaster of Eitzen, located at his log store. When the post office comes into being, it needs a name. The name Eitzen is chosen because Mr. Bunge came from Eitzen in Germany. Later in 1907, C. Bunge Jr.’s daughter, Bertha Bunge, becomes postmaster, a position she then holds for 46 years.
In 1890, the C. Bunge, Jr., store building is erected by Christian Krueger and Henry Roeber, who built it all by hand. They started building on the third of March, and finish by October 1. The walls of this building are three feet thick at the base and taper to 1.5 feet at the top. The rock was quarried a few miles from Eitzen and brought to the site of the building. There the stones were faced, trimmed, measured and fitted piece by piece. No big machinery was available to raise the stones into place, meaning these men were very efficient builders.
In 1970, the Houston County Historical Society acquired the Bunge Store for an Eitzen museum.
