Cooksville Photographs: People from the Past

Photographs of people from the Village of Cooksville's past---from the 1800s to the 2000s---have been collected over the years by local Village historians. Now the collections are being assembled in a newly created Archives and Collections Center located in the renovated basement of the historic Cooksville Congregation Church, owned and managed by the Historic Cooksville Trust, Inc.

The Village of Cooksville, founded in 1842, is located in the Town of Porter, Rock County, Wisconsin. Part of the Village was later founded in 1846 by the Porter family and it was named Waucoma, apparently meaning "clear water." (Also, prior to 1848, the State's name had a succession of Native American names, including Meskonsing, Miscousing, Ouisconsin and Wiskonsan, all originating from the State's name for its large central river.) 

Some of Cooksville's archived photographs have appeared in earlier blog stories. Here are a few more images of Cooksvillians and neighbors from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

Jack Robertson (1858-1930), fiddler, blacksmith

Cora Porter Atwood (1884-1952), historian

Leila Dow (1864-1930), artist

Stella (b.1866) and Charles Miller (1867-1948)

Ellen Pratt Gilley (1860-1944)

Isaac Gallup Porter (1827-1899)

John Savage (1879-1967) on the Yantzi River, 1940s: engineer/designer of dams 

A Cooksville School teacher

Cassius Newell (1856-1933}

Dorothy Kramer (1900-1971), artist

Joyce and Bill Wartmann, artists

Shirley and John Wilde, artists

Donations of photographs or other items to the Archives are always welcomed by the Historic Cooksville Trust. Contact Larry Reed (608) 873-5066.

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