Johnson paid Theodore Halstad, originally from Maine, to build the two-storey, six-sided house.

The house, now relocated, was originally sited on large grounds (now the location of the present Osakis High School).

[1] In addition to its hexagonal shape, another striking feature of the two-storey house is an unusual roofline which plunges down to the first storey.

John B. Johnson and his wife, Rebecca "Nellie," gave large parties and bought beautiful, expensive furnishings for their house.

Anderson hired Verne Frey, a locator decorator, who worked for three months painting ad stenciling the house's interior.

[5] On February 25, 2005, the John B. Johnson House, as restored by Roger and Nancy Daniels, was featured in one of the segments on the program If Walls Could Talk, broadcast by HGTV (Home & Garden Television).

According to the remarkable polymath Roger G. Kennedy,[3] This a house which can be readily scorned by those whose interest runs toward pure derivations from accredited styles.

Like the octagon houses, it is a social document worthy of respect.John B. Johnson was born in 1841 in Woodstock, Ohio and in boyhood moved to Illinois with his family.

[1] According to a local historian in Osakis, John and Rebecca Johnson, even in old age, rode a bicycle built for two.