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
