From 1841 through 1891 more than 72,000 Luxembourgers left their home country to emigrate to America. They left because of increase of population, and in search of new land. It was the poorest people that took to the road in great numbers. Their desire for adventure was another reason for immigrating.

By the mid 1850's, it was possible to purchase a ticket in Luxembourg to go to New York City by steamer, and then connect immediately by train and horse coach for Galena, Illinois, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or Winona and St.Paul, Minnesota. In this manner the earliest Luxembourgers in Rollingstone were carried along to America by the wave of immigration which swept through northern Europe in the mid-1800's. In the mid 1850's the village of Rollingstone, Minnesota, (now a city) was founded by citizens of the Grand Duchy. Over the next several decades developed into one of America's largest Luxembourg settlements.

The first settlers were the Hilbert brothers from Godbrange, Nick Kimmel, Peter Stoos, Peter Erpelding and the Rivers brothers, Gales, Hoffmans, and Lehnertz from Heffingen. These names are still prominent Rollingstone families. They were conservative, frugal, community-oriented and deeply religious; very soon after their arrival, the small shops and stores of the Rollingstone Village began to appear along Main Street, and a wooden frame church was erected as a symbol of the deep commitment of the Luxembourgers to Roman Catholicism.

The oldest of Rollingstone's houses and shops along Main Street still are on the edges of the plateau on which they were built a century ago; the custom of setting structures close to the rim of a drop-off, thereby saving valuable soil for farming, is typically Luxembourgish. The practice of erecting stone walls to strengthen these buildings and the embankments on which they rest is also still followed throughout the Grand Duchy. And the establishment of farmers' homes within walking distance of a central town is an old European tradition.There are still people in Rollingstone that speak Luxembourgish. Some citizens still celebrate St. Nicholas Day. It is the custom that on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, December 6, "St. Nick" brings good children bags of candy, nuts, and fruit. Another tradition is a Luxembourg dinner in January where a fest of tripen (a blood sausage) and other Luxembourg foods are served. Rollingstone residents still prepare Luxembourg dressing made with a herb called Bonakretchen and grown by area Luxembourg descendants.

When in Luxembourg, the people worked as farmers, laborers, shepherds, shoemakers, carpenters, tanners and stonemasons. Today in Rollingstone, ancestors are working in these same occupations.

The settlers were of the Catholic religion. Many attended church in Elba, a Luxembourger-German settlement ten miles away from Rollingstone. Many also attended St. Joseph's parish in nearby Winona, Minnesota. In 1869, a stone church was erected in Rollingstone, which was dedicated in July 1869 by Bishop Grace of St. Paul and named Holy Trinity, which still stands in Rollingstone today.

The Marnach house was built in 1858 by Nicholas Marnach and Barbra Georges Marnach. It was built near the Wells Fargo stage line and has walls that are three feet thick. Since 1978 it has been on the National register of Historic places. It is the only house in Minnesota still standing that is built this way. When it was rebuilt in 1991-1993 people from Luxembourg came over to help. Half of the money for the restoration came from people in Luxembourg.

The Marnach House in Elba still stands today. It was renovated by builders who came from Luxembourg in 1983. The Holy Trinity Catholic School which was built in 1920 is still standing (now the Rollingstone Elementary School).

The city hall (located at 98 main street) which contained the jail, court room, and fire station and more recently Stoos Electric, became the Rollingstone Luxembourg Heritage Museum in 1987. The Museum contains artifacts brought over from Luxembourg by visitors from that country and Rollingstone residents who have traveled over seas to visit their heritage. Today families from Luxembourg and Rollingstone correspond on a regular basis.