 The railroad put them up in villages, such as Litchfield, Willmar, Benson, Morris, and Breckenridge, along the railroad's lines in the 1870s.The largest one was in Duluth and it could accommodate one hundred immigrants.The houses were “fitted up with cooking-stoves, washing conveniences, and beds.” The newly arriving immigrants were given shelter in the reception houses and the chance to buy food and clothing at cost from the railroad while they looked for land in the area.