History of Cook ForestÂ
Cook Forest is the most important tract of virgin timberland to be found
in Pennsylvania, and is without rival for size east of the Rockies. The
towering pines and hemlocks measure three and four feet in diameter, an
occasional giant being five feet through the bole. They rise high in the
air, clean, straight, sometimes surprisingly close, like time-checkered
columns supporting the blue sky. Here, man stands in reverence amid the
majestic grandeur of the ancient forest. Underfoot is Nature’s carpet,
thick with pine needles, brightened by shafts of sunlight falling
through the spreading branches. Roadside and hillside abound with a
dense growth of mountain laurel and rhododendron, a-bloom from mid-June
to mid-July.There are approximately forty miles of well-marked winding trails. Log
Cabin Inn stands at the entrance to Longfellow Trail, along which most
of the virgin pine may be seen. After a day’s hiking, riding, motoring,
skiing, swimming, or fishing, one may retire to the Inn, Lodge, or
cabins, and enjoy every convenience of home.Tallest of the giant white pines was the Tener Pine, located by the Boy
Scouts of Allegheny County during their 1912 Encampment in Cook Forest.
Named for John Tener, then governor of the Commonwealth, it was felled
by lightning that same summer, and was rapidly consumed by souvenir and
novelty collectors.Rarest of the picturesque trees seen here are those imported by Mrs.
Thomas B. Cook to enhance her home along the river. On a plot, part of
which was once the apple orchard of patriarchal John Cook, are 75 trees
so unique that even nurserymen do not know them all. The families of
Thomas B. Cook and Anthony Wayne Cook still maintain their homes on
Riverside Drive.
**Cook descendants currently own these two Cook mansions along the
Clarion, and the road is now called River Road. Some of the unique
trees, such as the Weeping Norway Spruce (which has since been
successfully cultivated and is now more common), still stand.The first white man to pass through the area where Cooksburg now stands
was Christian Frederick Post, a Moravian missionary. In 1757 Post was on
his way to persuade the Seneca Indians to become allies of the English
against the French, whose scouts had already buried six leaden plates
along the banks of the Allegheny River to proclaim it as French
territory.The first name applied to the Clarion River was “River au Fiel” – “River
of Hate,” as shown on Father Bonnecamp’s map of 1749. The Indians called
it “Tobeco Creek,” meaning “Alder Creek.” On some other early maps, it
is named “Stump Creek,” and later “Big Tobe Creek.” The older settlers
clung tenaciously to the name “Toby’s Creek” until 1850, although the
stream became officially the “Clarion River,” meaning “Clear River,” in
1819.Tom’s Run was named for a Seneca Indian whose camp was still there in
1837. Along this run was a trail over which Senecas came from their
northern reservation to hunt in Jefferson County. The hunts were
continued five years after the camp along Tom’s Run was discontinued.
The present Indian Cabins are located on this site. The action, color,
and dramatic poetry of those days have been recaptured for posterity in
Unconquered, a motion picture made by Paramount Pictures partly in Cook
Forest and photographed in natural color.Cook, of Cooksburg
John Cook, pioneer of Jefferson County until Forest County was created,
was the son of Daniel Cook, who came to the United States from Germany
before the Revolutionary War and settled first in North Carolina. Later,
he moved with his wife Christina to Centre County, where John was born
in 1788. About 1810, the family moved to Beaver Township, Clarion
County. Here, John Cook cleared a farm and married Susannah Helpman. Ten
children were born to this union.In 1826, the State of Pennsylvania surveyed the Clarion River, looking
for a canal to be part of the great east-to-west highway. This
enterprise caused John Cook to explore carefully the Clarion River above
and below the present site of Cooksburg. The trail he blazed through the
wilderness with axe and an ox team was visible until about 1931. After
his thorough study, he selected a site along Tom’s Run as a suitable
place for a home, and purchased 765 acres from John Bredin, part of the
original estate of William Bingham, of Philadelphia. After clearing a
tract and building a one-story cabin on the east side of the Run, he
moved his family into this wilderness home in 1828.Susannah Helpman Cook died in 1830, aged 38, and was buried, as she had
asked, “in the wheatfield on the hill” – now the Cooksburg Cemetery.Two years later, John Cook married Katherine Ritter. Legend reports that
on their wedding day, he strolled into the parlor dressed in typical
woodsman fashion-plaid flannel shirt, home-spun trousers, and boots.
This so angered the bride that she immediately changed from her silken
wedding gown to a gingham dress and sunbonnet.Near his home, John Cook built a sawmill for $300-spending $200 for
labor and $100 for iron. Oxen dragged the logs to the mill; and the
lumber was floated down the Clarion and Allegheny Rivers to the market
in Pittsburgh. In the late 1830s, John Cook began to build flatboats
made from choice pines, some 100 feet long. A boat scaffold was built
where the present river bridge stands. The boats were built upside down
and caulked, then turned over into the river. It has been said, to turn
over one boat required ten men and a gallon of whiskey. Onto the boats
was loaded lumber which had been piled on the bank near the present Cook
Homestead and Cook Forest Inn. A small dam a short distance down the
river raised the water about six feet, and held the loaded boats in
readiness for the floods which came regularly about three times a year.
A day’s work then floated boats and rafts to the mouth of the Clarion.
Here four were lashed together and transported to Pittsburgh as a
fleet-a journey of two more days. A shanty built on one of the boats
accommodated the men with splendid meals and good sleeping quarters
until the boats and rafts were disposed of in Pittsburgh, being sold for
coal barges.There were no roads then. All groceries and supplies had to be poled up
the rivers in canoes, a distance of over 100 miles. These were built
wide enough for barrels to fit in sideways, as every cargo included
barrels of certain staples.John Cook was 5’6″ tall, very heavy set, and of great muscular strength.
He prided himself on his physique, which he inherited from his father
Daniel, a man of wondrous strength. Many stories are told of them to
display their vigor. On one of his trips to Pittsburgh, Daniel was seen
to seize a full barrel of whiskey by the staves projecting beyond the
head, raise it to his mouth, and drink from the hole. On another
occasion, as John drove a wagonload of goods up Watterson Hill, the team
stalled. Still directing his team, he shouldered a barrel of salt and
carried it up the hill.John Cook’s children also were large and capable of great endurance.
Betsey and one of her sisters walked forty miles to the nearest post
office. Postage for a letter then was 25c, payable by the addressee.The Pennsylvania Northwest was a paradise for hunters, and John Cook was
a mighty hunter. In and around Cooksburg were over 50 kinds of wild
animals. How many he killed in his lifetime is not known; but it is
recorded that one day in 1830 he killed seven deer, one panther, one
wolf, and fifty wild turkeys. He is said to have kept so many hunting
dogs that when visitors called, it was necessary to put the dogs out of
the house to accommodate the guests.Lake Erie and the waters of Pennsylvania then held 325 species of fish.
John Cook caught many a choice bass and chub trout by hook and line in
the Clarion River. Using a pitchpine knot as a light on the boat at
night, he would spear pike weighing 35 to 40 pounds.John Cook died in Cooksburg in 1858, and is buried in the cemetery on
the hill.The Honorable Andrew Cook
Andrew Cook, pioneer Pennsylvania lumberman, developed the area that is
now Cook Forest State Park. [HALL IMAGE CAPTION]Outstanding among John Cook’s sons was Andrew Cook, born in Beaver
Township January 14, 1824. He too grew to be of giant strength-at 6’5″
tall, he weighed between 250 – 270 pounds. His formal education was
meager, the nearest school being at Scotch Hill, four miles from his
home. He studied at night, after a hard day’s labor, by the light of a
pitchpine knot. He read avidly all the papers, magazines, and books
available, and kept himself well informed on business and politics.In 1849, Andrew married Rebecca Ann Maze, who bore him eight children.
Two died in infancy. Andrew and Rebecca, eager to learn, became pupils
of his nephew, Captain Phipps, who taught a small class in the house
Andrew built in 1849. Never were husband and wife more devoted to each
other. Their forty-two years of married life were lived in perfect
harmony, though they endured many hardships and privations. “The hand
was called upon rather than the brain; the axe was busier than the pen.
There was little time to think of advancing the mind while yet the bear
and wolf prowled nightly about the door.”From early boyhood, Andrew Cook took great interest in his father’s
lumber business and assisted him. When 20 years old, Andrew, with his
brothers Philip and Jerry R., established a separate business. Andrew
later bought his brothers’ interests, and continued the work alone.
Descendants of Jerry R. Cook, the MacBeth and E.B. Cook families, have
their homes and operate tourist businesses on a section of land once
owned by their grandfather. Two half-brothers of Andrew, Squire and
Sebastian Cook, also resided at Cooksburg.Soon after Andrew Cook started in the lumber business for himself, he
began accumulating property. He purchased 36 3/10 acres from his father
and on August 5, 1864, after his father’s death, bought the balance of
the 765 acres originally purchased by John. On his property, known as
“the Cooksburg property,” were erected three saw-mills, one flour mill,
one planing mill, a boat scaffold, several dwellings, and a store. A
boarding house was built for the employees. Since the state acquired
Cook Forest, this building, which is now state owned, has been remodeled
and is operated under the name of Cook Forest Inn.In later years, Andrew Cook built a store with living quarters on the
second and third floors. About 1870, he built a home now known as the
Cook Homestead, which was owned and operated by one of his
granddaughters, Mary Wheat, until recently. It is now a privately-run
bed & breakfast. The homestead consisted of six large rooms downstairs,
eleven bedrooms on the second floor, and two extra large rooms on the
third floor to accommodate some of Andrew’s employees.There was no bridge over the Clarion River at Cooksburg until 1896.
Before that date it was necessary to ford the river in front of the Cook
Homestead. If the river was so high that the ford could not be used, one
had to travel over the hills upriver seven miles to Clarington, where a
bridge had been erected.Andrew Cook’s interests were diverse. He took an active part in the
organization of Forest County, and was one of its first county
commissioners. He held many other county and township offices, and was
elected associate judge in 1870, serving five years. He was president of
the Second National Bank of Clarion, and of the Forest County National
Bank at Tionesta. He was a vigorous Republican in deciding public
questions.As an employer, he was kind and generous; and many could testify to his
help in time of need. All who worked for him said his word was as good
as his bond. As a storekeeper, he was patient and forebearing. He
expected his customers to pay their debts, but never sued anyone. He had
running accounts standing for years without final settlement.Once when he had sold a horse on time to a minister, and the minister
defaulted in his payment, Andrew Cook sent him word that he expected to
be paid; if the minister hadn’t the money, he could preach it out. The
minister preached one sermon. Hearing it, Andrew told the Reverend the
debt was cancelled.Andrew Cook died at Old Point Comfort, Virginia, on November 18, 1891,
enroute to Georgia. He and his wife, Rebecca Maze Cook, who died in
March of 1916, are interred in the Cook Mausoleum overlooking Cooksburg.
Andrew’s family built this structure, containing 20 vaults and a stained
glass window designed after an oil painting of a logging scene completed
by Harriet Cook.The A. Cook Sons Company
After the death of Hon. Andrew Cook, his heirs formed the A. Cook Sons
Company to develop the timber remaining on their lands. These heirs
were: Anthony Wayne Cook, president; Harriet Cook Ross, vice president;
Ida Cook Calvin; John Wesley Cook; Jacob Hill Cook; and Thomas Burnside
Cook, the latter serving as manager, secretary, and treasurer throughout
the company’s gas, oil, and lumber operations elsewhere.For many years, the A. Cook Sons Company transported a large part of
their timber products to market over the Clarion and Allegheny Rivers as
their father had done. Later, lumber shipped via rail after a six-mile
haul to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The sawmill operated until
1910, when the heirs began to seek some way of saving the timber that
remained.The Cook Forest Association
The idea of making this timberland a public park originated with Major
I. McCreight of DuBois, who gave liberally of his time and money to
interest others, and presented the cause to the State Legislature in
1911. The time was not yet ripe.After World War I, Mr. Samuel Y. Ramage of Oil City advocated raising a
purchase sum by public subscription, and on December 17, 1926, the “Cook
Forest Association” was formed for this purpose. The original officers
and directors of the Cook Forest Association were: Samuel Y. Ramage,
president; Taylor Allerdice, vice president; Thomas Liggett, secretary;
George Benson, treasurer; Henry M. Brackenridge, Arthur E. Braun, Hon.
Frank L. Harvey, Howard H. McClintic, John M. Phillips, and Homer D.
Williams. Other pioneers included Major I. McCreight, Hon. Theo L.
Wilson, and John H. Nicholson. Credit for the accomplishment is chiefly
due Thomas Liggett. Thomas B. Cook Jr., (**who formerly owned Cook
Riverside Cabins on River Road), was Mr. Liggett’s right-hand man, and
donated liberally of his salary to advance the work of the Cook Forest
Association. The purchase price set by the owners of the land was
$650,000, with reservation of gas and oil rights.Anthony Wayne Cook had bought the interests of John Wesley Cook and
Jacob Hill Cook several years before the property was acquired by the
state. In 1927, Harriet Cook Ross, Ida Cook Calvin, and Thomas B. Cook
sold their interests to Anthony Wayne Cook. This transfer was made to
facilitate the sale to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and to place
Mr. Anthony Wayne Cook in position to complete it. The Honorable Theo L.
Wilson, of Clarion, was attorney for the sellers in this transaction.The Cook Forest Association met a fraction of the purchase price, the
again turned to the Legislature. Finally, on April 14, 1927, a bill was
signed appropriating $450,000 on condition that the Association raise
the remaining $200,000 to purchase 6,055 acres. The Cook Forest
Association successfully raised the allotted amount, and Cook Forest was
transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On December 28, 1928,
the Secretary of the Department of Forests and Waters, Harrisburg,
announced the formal purchase of this tract of virgin white pine and
hemlock. Since the original purchase, Mr. Arthur E. Braun of Pittsburgh
donated several hundred additional acres of woodland to the state, to
become part of Cook Forest State Park.For almost twenty years, the members of the A. Cook Sons Company had
stood by steadfastly to save the trees for others. They sacrificed a
fortune in heavy taxation, interest, and other constant expense.This remnant of “Penn’s Woods,” used and enjoyed annually by thousands
of Americans from every state, and by visitors from foreign countries as
well, is now a living monument to the illustrious pioneer, Judge Andrew
Cook.Source:Â History of Cook Forest, 1951, Mrs.
Thomas Burnside Cook (aka May Forrester Cook)Contributed by Kelly Culbertson for use by the Forest County Genealogy
Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/forest/)Forest County Genealogy Project Notice:
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