Monday, January 23, 2012

Documenting an Early Cloquet Photographer


Few people know that photography was once one of the few professions women were able to enter, in addition to teaching and nursing. Cloquet was home to one such entrepreneurial woman in the early 1900s named Octavie Morneau, who owned an elegantly furnished studio on Arch Street. Morneau was born into a French-Canadian family in Dayton, Minnesota, and was also thought to have Native American ancestry. In Cloquet, she documented the local lumber and paper industries, the Indian reservation, community festivities in Pinehurst Park, sports teams, and also took general studio photos. Her photographs have become an important record of the town shortly before the 1918 fire.

Former Carlton County Historical Society director Marlene Wisuri will speak on the life and work of Octavie Morneau on Saturday, February 4, at 10:30 a.m. in the large meeting room. Ms. Wisuri's talk , which will include a slide presentation, expands on her article on Morneau that appeared in the Fall 2011 issue of Minnesota History.

Photo credit(s): Carlton County Historical Society

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