There’s a local legend or myth that says a building on Albert Lea’s south side was once used as an elementary school on the city’s north side.

To be more specific, this south side building is located at the corner of South Broadway Avenue and East Fourth Street and was a neighborhood grocery store for many years. The earlier north side location of this same building was near the corner of Johnson and Marshall Streets and was known as the New Denmark Grade School.

According to information complied by the late Bidney Bergie and mentioned in the 1988 Freeborn County Heritage book, the New Denmark School on the city’s north side was built in 1903 and closed in 1916. At that time a much larger building, originally named the New New Denmark School and later the Northside School, was built nearby. Evidently the school board decided not to add onto the 1903 structure.

Local historical researcher Kevin Savick has prepared a timeline based on newspaper reports that explains in more detail the transition for this building from the city’s north side to the south side.

In reality, according to Savick’s research, the original New Denmark School was used until the spring of 1917. During part of 1918-19 the former school building was used by the North Albert Lea Division of the American Red Cross.

In September 1919 this building was again used as a temporary school for several months after a wall at the new addition to the Ramsey School collapsed. After repairs were made to the Ramsey building, the two grades sent to the north side were again returned to the south side.

In May 1920, Fred P. Rudsenske, former owner of a grocery store in the city’s south side, purchased the New Denmark School building for $1,200. He then had the four-room frame structure moved during September 1920 and placed on a foundation near the corner of South Broadway Avenue and Fourth Street.

Within a few years the front of the building facing South Broadway was given a brick facade and a conversion was made for use as a grocery store. The former schoolhouse portion was extensively remodeled, given a stucco exterior finish, and converted into a residence portion for the store’s owner and operator.

City records show that the address for the grocery store was 929 S. Broadway Ave., and the attached residential portion was designated as 107 E. Fourth St.

A newspaper ad from a November 1921 issue found by Savick shows that Rudsenske was operating the Jefferson Highway Grocery in the former schoolhouse. (The Jefferson Highway name was replaced a few years later with the present U.S. Highway 65 designation.)

Later information found by Savick shows that in November 1928 Rudsenske had sold the business to Edwin Larson and moved to McAllen, Texas. Larson changed the name of the store to The Sanitary Market.

For many years this corner location became Wayne’s Grocery, owned by Obell Wayne, and then for a few years The Spoke Shop which specialized in bicycle sales and repairs.

At the present time the front of this former schoolhouse with the added brick facade is boarded up and the rear portion is still a private residence.

Thus, the local legend is actually true and the myth regarding a transplanted schoolhouse is confirmed.