Benton’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Benton. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Cologne was platted in 1880, and incorporated in 1881. The community was named for Cologne, Germany.
In 1939, the town of Cologne was preserved on film in the amateur short subject Cologne: From the Diary of Ray and Esther, which chronicles aspects of life in the German-American community prior to the American engagement in World War II. The film was named to the National Film Registry in 2001, and is one of only a half-dozen amateur works to be included on the list.
In March 2015 the city of Cologne, Minnesota hired Jesse Dickson as their city administrator.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Benton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Benton’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewCologne State Bank (ca. 1915), c. 1915: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Benton, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Cologne State Bank (ca. 1915) (c. 1915) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.