COKATO MUSEUM
  • History
    • Akerlund Studio
    • Cokato History
    • The Museum
    • Blog
    • Videos
  • Events & Exhibits
    • Annual Events
    • Online Exhibits
  • Research
    • Genealogy
    • Archives
    • Resources
    • Educators
  • Support
    • Cokato Historical Society
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Donations >
      • How to Donate
      • Wish List
  • Contact/Hours

In the Midst

Use the Categories menu on the right to search through our many exciting articles on Cokato History.

BUTTER BANDITS ESCAPE BY A THIN “MARGARINE”

4/28/2022

 
Cokato Museum Staff, "Butter Bandits Escape By A Thin "Margarine"." In The Midst Of, Cokato Historical Society (April, 2022) vol. 42 no. 1.
Picture
Lamson Creamery and Store. The store is located on the upper level and the creamery is in the basement level.
What thief doesn’t get twitchy fingers when they come across golden bars...of butter that is. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, gangs of butter thieves robbed Minnesota and Iowa creameries and stole their transport vehicles. Creameries that provided butter for companies, such as Land O’ Lakes, had the leverage of the companies offering large rewards for catching the thieves.  The Cokato Enterprise reported in a January 19, 1928, article that “Land O’ Lakes Creameries, Inc has been instrumental in securing the conviction of three different gangs of butter thieves, all of whom are now serving time in the Stillwater  penitentiary.”

Read More

Lost Cokato: The "3.2" Joints

2/5/2021

 
Mike Worcester, "Lost Cokato: The "3.2" Joints," In the Midst Of, Cokato Historical Society, (September, 2017) Vol 37, No. 4.
Picture
Troll In, originally located on Broadway next to city hall.
On election day 2006, the voters of Cokato shocked many, including themselves, by approving a ballot issue which allowed the city to issue licenses for the sale of strong beer, wine, and liquor. It brought to an end the status of Cokato being a “dry” town, a legacy dating back over ninety years.
 
We’ve written before about how Cokato became a dry town and what that meant.  Our purpose here is to note how even with that dry status, area residents could buy beer at what were called “3.2 joints”.
 
Once National Prohibition ended in Minnesota in early 1933, the 3.2 establishments could apply for licenses.  Many did over the years.  By 2007 when the city was given the authority to issue licenses for strong beverages, only one was left, Nelson’s Bar & Grill, on Millard Avenue.


Read More

“THE SALOONS MUST GO”

2/5/2021

 
Mike Worcester, "The Saloons Must Go," In the Midst Of, Cokato Historical Society, (Spring, 1997) Vol 17, No. 2. 
Picture
Calgren's saloon, Millard Ave, circa 1910.
In the state of Minnesota today—'although no one is really quite sure—there are approximately sixty communities that are classified as “dry” towns.‘ Simply put these towns, by statute, do not allow the issuance of licenses to sell anything stronger that 3.2% beer. No strong beer, wine, or liquor can be sold. Cokato is one of those towns. And how it came to be this way is a story that is full of twist, turns, and legal shenanigans that could make modern audiences blush. Before we begin this tale though, some background is needed.

Read More

    Cokato Museum

    Blog articles are subject to copyright.

    Categories

    All
    Akerlund
    Amusements
    Businesses
    Crime
    Disaster
    Downtown
    Hwy 12
    Lost Cokato
    Medical
    Men
    Military
    Organizations
    Parks
    Politics
    Religion
    Schools
    Sports
    Surrounding Communities
    Technology
    Transportation
    Weather
    Women

    Archives

    October 2024
    June 2024
    April 2024
    January 2024
    September 2023
    August 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019

    RSS Feed

We Would Love to Have You Visit Soon!

E-mail:
[email protected]

Telephone:
320-286-2427

Address:
175 Fourth Street SW, Cokato, MN 55321

Hours:
Tues-Sat: 8:30-4:30
Sun-Mon: Closed


​Closed Most Holidays

FREE Admission


© 2025 Cokato Historical Society
Picture
  • History
    • Akerlund Studio
    • Cokato History
    • The Museum
    • Blog
    • Videos
  • Events & Exhibits
    • Annual Events
    • Online Exhibits
  • Research
    • Genealogy
    • Archives
    • Resources
    • Educators
  • Support
    • Cokato Historical Society
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Donations >
      • How to Donate
      • Wish List
  • Contact/Hours