The trust has initiated, supported, or assisted the following undertakings with generous donations, funds, and volunteer efforts of the board, donors, and friends of Cooksville.
Supported Projects
Cooksville Lutheran Church: to replace the modern steeple with a reconstructed historic steeple.
Blackman-Woodbury House: to rehabilitate the property exterior.
Graves Blacksmith Shop: to reconstruct the blacksmith shop.
Cooksville Community Center Schoolhouse: to replace the property’s roof.
Cooksville Lutheran Church: to build an addition.
Masonic Lodge and General Store: to install water lines and a restroom for the first-floor general store and to cosponsor the celebration event for this installation with the Cooksville Community Center.
Danky-Schelshorn Farm: to support the “Lights on the Prairie” event.
Carving on the Commons Event: cosponsored with the Cooksville Community Center.
Town of Porter’s Tree Restoration Committee: to conserve woodland on the Cooksville Commons.
Cooksville General Store and masonic lodge, above. Historic Cooksville Trust brochure. Cooksville Community Center school house. Tree being felled as part of the Historic Cooksville Trust–funded restoration project.
Publications
The trust has financed, produced, or edited various educational and informational brochures, booklets, and newsletters as well as a walking tour guide.
“Blackman-Graves House & Blacksmith Shop: Architectural Documentation,” by Michael Bolster for Historic Cooksville Trust, 2006.
“Cooksville: Living History in Wisconsin,” by Historic Cooksville Trust, 2010.
“The Story of the Cooksville General Store,” by Larry Reed, 2013.
“Historic Cooksville – A Guide,” by Larry Reed for publication by the Cooksville Community Center, 2014.
Since 2010, the trust has written a series of brief historical stories and vignettes about Cooksville on the Cooksville News blog describing nineteenth- and twentieth-century life, history, and architecture in the village and announcing current local events and happenings in the community. The trust has also distributed occasional news releases to the media.