This year the Historic
Cooksville Trust, Inc., (HCT) celebrates the 20th anniversary of its
founding.
Established in 1999, HCT is a
non-profit, historic preservation corporation and tax-deductible charity
established to assist the community’s preservation and conservation of the heritage
of Cooksville and the surrounding area.
For the past 20 years, HCT has
supported and sponsored a number of preservation projects and educational
programs. These have ranged from financial support with grants of funds to
historic house, church, store and schoolhouse rehabilitations, as well as co-sponsoring
Cooksville history-related programs, events, tours, and the production of several
booklets and leaflets.
HCT's Board of Directors consists of 13 directors and five honorary members. The Board has
been able to support a variety of preservation activities because of generous
financial donations, voluntary efforts, and gifts of property from many friends
over the years. HCT has also received donations of historical documents, photographs,
art works and other materials to add to the growing archival collection of the
village’s past, from the 1840s to the present.
The following preservation projects
have been assisted by the HCT Board, cooperating with local property owners, the Town of Porter, and other organizations:
*The historic Cooksville Lutheran Church Steeple
Restoration Project to replace the modern steeple with a reconstructed historic
steeple. (2004)
*The Blackman-Woodbury House and the Graves Blacksmith Shop
Project, to rehabilitate the house exterior and reconstruct the blacksmith
shop. (2006)
*Research on the Cell Tower Construction proposal near
Cooksville, to investigate its impact on the area. (2009)
*The Cooksville Community Center Schoolhouse Roof
Replacement Project. (2009)
*The historic Cooksville Lutheran Church with its New Addition
Project. (2009)
*The Masonic Lodge for the Restroom and Water Installation
Project in the historic Cooksville General Store. (2010)
*The Cooksville Community Center to co-sponsor the Celebration
Event for the First Plumbing Installation in the General Store. (2010)
*The Light on the Prairie Event on the Danky-Schelshorn
Farm and Prairie. (2011)
*The Cooksville Community Center to co-sponsor the Carving
on the Commons Event. (2011)
*The 175th Anniversary of Cooksville’s Founding
Celebration Event, with Jerry Apps. (2017)
*The Town of Porter’s Tree Restoration Committee Project to
conserve the woodland on the historic Cooksville Public Square/Commons. (2018)
The HCT has also assisted
with various educational and informational brochures, booklets, newsletters, technical
advice, and a walking tour guide, including the following:
*Blackman-Graves
House & Blacksmith Shop: Architectural Documentation, by Michael
Bolster for HCT, 2006.
*Cooksville: Living
History in Wisconsin, by HCT, 2010.
*The Story of the
Cooksville General Store, by Larry Reed, 2013.
*Historic
Cooksville - A Guide,” written and
edited by Larry Reed for publication by the Cooksville Community Center. 2014.
* The Cooksville News
Blog, a series of brief historical stories about Cooksville written for the
Internet site cooksvillenews.blogspot.com, describing the history,
architecture, and past and present stories of life in the village.
For more information or to contribute to the Historic
Cooksville Trust contact Mary Zimmerman, Treasurer, at (608) 628-8567 or Larry
Reed, Chair, at (608) 873-5066.
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