AKELEY PAUL BUNYAN HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Akeley Area Historical Picture of the Week

The Akeley Paul Bunyan Historical Museum is located on Main Street immediately behind the large statue of Paul Bunyan.  The Museum was opened in 1984 and contains an interesting collection of pictures and artifacts portraying the early Akeley history when the largest sawmill in the state was located here and the population was between 3,000 and 4,000.  The Museum is open daily from noon until 4:00 p.m. during the summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  It is supported solely by donations from individuals and organizations.

Frank Brean's account of the early days as told to his daughter Frances Lamb.

     "There was a logging camp on the east side of the Crow Wing River bridge between 7ht and 8th Crow Wing Lakes.  Alf Henderson, V. Bail, and G. Hensel worked in the camp.  The fur trading post and hotel was on the west side of the Crow Wing bridge.  The Post Office was called Ojibwa and that dated back to 1890 and was located on the north side of the road.  The Fur Post was on the South side of the road.  The hotel was a two story building with sleeping rooms upstairs.  A Man by the name of D. Wonger operated the hotel.  He had come from Wadena in 1886 before there was a railroad."

     "The population of Akeley in November of 1902 was about 2,000 and swelled to about 3,500 in 1907 and 1908.  Lumber-jacks were coming and going on every freight or passenger train.  The big Red River sawmill and planing mill ran night and day, winter and summer.  In the winter they operated by a large hot pond which was built in the lake and was kept hot by being piped to the burner by five inch pipes.  The burner burned sawdust and some scrap slabs.  Every spring when the ice would go out of 11th Crow Wing Lake the entire lake would be covered with logs.  There was no room for any boats until later in the summer."

     "Some logs to supply the big 1902 saw mill were hauled in by a logging train from north of Akeley.  One train load of 25 to 30 car loads of logs was brought in every week day.  Logs were unloaded in the hot pond in the summer and unloaded directly into 11th Crow Wing Lake on the south shore close to the big mill.  Logs were hauled in to the lake by four-horse teams from the south, southeast and east."

Akeley census for 1895

The Trestle