Cokato Museum & Gust Akerlund Studio

Cokato Museum & Gust Akerlund Studio is a local history museum in Cokato, Minnesota, which is dedicated to chronicling the story of the people of the city of Cokato and the surrounding townships in southwestern Wright County. There are two building that comprise the facility.

The first is the Cokato Museum, which opened in 1976. The museum features several permanent displays, covering topics such as immigration, agriculture, pioneer life, businesses, and education. A temporary gallery is used to feature exhibits about a variety of subjects. The museum also has a research area, which includes local newspapers, state and federal census records, church records, cemetery listings, and family histories.

The other building is the Gust Akerlund Photography Studio, located adjacent to the museum. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the studio opened in 1902 and was used for most of the first half of the twentieth century. It amenities include authentic photographic equipment, studio furnishings, and an adjoining living quarters used by the photographer and his family. The studio also has a collection of 14,017 negatives, of which 11,552 are glass plate negatives. Entered onto the National Register in 1976, the studio was donated to the Cokato Museum in 1986 for preservation. This structure is the only known early twentieth century photo studio left standing in the Upper Midwest. It is not known how many are left remaining in the country.

The museum is operated through a partnership of the City of Cokato and the Cokato Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

References

http://www.nr.nps.gov - National Register of Historic Places
Lee, Carlton R. “Cokato’s First Century, 1878 - 1978” (1978, 2003)

External links

http://www.cokato.mn.us/cmhs/ - Official web site
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=60326133622 – Facebook page