October 8 of that year brought a devastating fire to Manistee and his shop , which happened coincidentally at the same time as the 1871 Great Chicago Fire . Johnson and Bowie lost everything , their shop , their business and their partnership as it then went sour . Johnson wound up selling off his share of the partnership to a Mr. Stoke for $ 1,000 . He was so poor then that he and his wife had to spend the winter in a small coal shed . An Odd Fellows Lodge in Milwaukee sent Johnson $ 100 to help out his family . Johnson was able to buy a lot and lumber with the total amount of money of $ 1,100 . He then rebuilt the machine shop and an economical 14 foot by 20 foot structure to live in . The cheap wet lumber used for his dwelling warped and caused gaps in their " housing " structure . It was by no means weather proofed and rain and snow came through . Through determination and persistence he eventually got himself back on track and after a couple of years he was able to save up enough money to build a small house for the family
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Nels Johnson