history of the farm

Mokko is an old farm that belonged to the lands of the Kuremaa manor. The ancestors of the owner can be traced back to the 1740ies, they resided in the neighboring Patjala village at the time. They moved to Mokko apparently in the beginning of the 19th century. Jaan Alekand, the head of the family, bought the farm from the the German landlord von Oettingen in Kuremaa in 1867. Mokko was with its 60 ha a relatively big farm and this must have been one of the reasons why the popular Estonian writer Oskar Luts mentions Mokko in his memoirs as one of the wealthiest in the parish.

During the first Estonian Republik (as we call it) Mokko was blooming. A new stable and cowshed was built and the living house and other buildings renovated. The master of the house, Franz Alekand, was active in many municipality positions, he was the chairman of the Palamuse credit cooperative, member of the Jõgeva Farmers' Convention, founder of the Palamuse dairy co-operative, initiator of building the new dairy house and chief of the local Kaitseliit (Defence League, a voluntary military organization). His wife was also active in public life, for example as the chairwoman of the female organization of Home Defence. The farm had a beautiful flower garden that was exceptional at the time.

Already in 1944 was the family in Mokko dispersed and during the next 50 years all buildings but the barn were destroyed. However, in 1981, when the family managed to buy it back as a summer house, was the barn in a very bad shape.

The restoration of the farm has been going on for almost 30 years and all buildings have been rebuilt, though not for their original purpose but for today's family, their pets and guests.