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History · Cook

Cook dates to 1903

Most of Cook was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1930.

1903founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Cook began

When was Cook founded?

1903

Cook dates its founding to 1903 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 272 in 19302020 census: 534123 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1903.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cook’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cook are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 800 in 1980; 534 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cook’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cook’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Cook, census by census

020040060080019401960198020002020Peak: 800

Peaked at 800 in 1980; 534 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cook’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Cook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cook.

Read it all →

The city of Cook was known initially as Little Fork, because of the river of the same name that runs through the city, later known as Ashawa, which means "by the river or across the river"; its name was changed to Cook on August 1, 1908, at the request of the U.S. Postal Service "because of confusion with a village in southern Minnesota named Oshawa". The town was named in honor of Wirth Cook, an owner of the railroad that was constructed through Cook in 1903 and 1904. Cook was incorporated on May 13, 1926.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cook, 1903 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903
    FoundingCook is established
  3. 1903Post officeThe Ashawa post office opens
  4. 1908Post officeThe Ashawa post office closes
  5. 1908Post officeThe Cook post office opens
  6. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 800
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Cook on the map, 1964 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cook. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cook on the 1964 USGS mapCook on the 1984 USGS mapCook on the 1994 USGS map1964Cook sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cook.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Cook’s post office has been open since 1908. Another post office, Ashawa, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ashawa
1903–1908
Cook
1908–today
19001960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Field Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOwens TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cook’s history

What year was Cook founded?

In 1903, according to Wikidata. Cook’s post office opened in 1903, and the census of 1930 counted 272 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.