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Cokato Museum & Gust Akerlund Studio facts for kids
The Cokato Museum from the southwest
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| Established | 1976 |
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| Location | 175 4th Street Southwest, Cokato, Minnesota |
| Type | Local history |
The Cokato Museum & Gust Akerlund Studio is a cool place to learn about local history. It's located in Cokato, Minnesota, in the United States. This museum focuses on the history of Cokato city and the nearby areas of Wright County.
The museum has two main parts. There's a modern museum building and the August Akerlund Photographic Studio. This old studio is super special. It's the only known photography studio from the early 1900s still standing in the Upper Midwest region. The City of Cokato and the Cokato Historical Society work together to run the museum.
Discover the Cokato Museum
The Cokato Museum first opened its doors in 1976. It has many interesting things to see. The main exhibits show how people lived and worked in the area long ago. You can learn about the culture, economy, and social life of the region.
There's also a special gallery that changes. It features new exhibits about different local history topics. Inside the museum, you'll find some amazing full-size models. These include a furnished log cabin, which is like a tiny house from the past. There's also a part of the Titrud Round Barn. You can even see a street scene from the early 1900s.
The museum also has a research area. Here, you can look at old newspapers and records. These records include census information and church documents. You can also find lists of cemeteries and family histories. It's a great place to learn about your own family or the history of Cokato.
Explore the Gust Akerlund Studio
The Gust Akerlund Studio was a photography business. It belonged to August "Gust" Akerlund (1872–1954). He was an immigrant from Sweden. Gust Akerlund ran his studio for most of the first half of the 20th century.
He bought the studio building from another photographer in Cokato in 1902. In 1905, he moved the studio to its current spot. He also added a special skylight to help with lighting for photos. In 1927, he married Esther Hanson. A few years later, he added an apartment to the back of the studio. This was where they lived.
The studio is very important for its history. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. This means it's a special building because of its architecture and its role in business. It's one of the few photography studios from the early 1900s that still exists.
Esther Akerlund lived in the studio apartment until 1985. Her son, Ted, gave the studio and everything inside to the city. The city then restored it. The studio opened to visitors in 1986. It still looks just like it did in the 1930s. You can see the Akerlunds' pump organ and their old furniture.
In the studio, you'll find Gust Akerlund's cameras and other photography tools. He also had a huge collection of over 14,000 photo negatives. More than 11,000 of these are glass plate negatives. These are like the original film for old cameras.
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Posing room with 12-foot (3.7 m) skylight
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Dressing room
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Photography workroom with darkroom beyond
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Kitchen
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Living room
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Bedroom
See also
- List of museums in Minnesota
- List of museums devoted to one photographer
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wright County, Minnesota