Sacramento County
Biographies
ALLEN AARON COOK
A.A. COOK, architect, one of the oldest and most prominent
of his profession in the Capital City, is a native of Chenango County, New
York, born April 20, 1832. His parents, Aaron and Lydia Cook, were natives of
New York State. His father was ninety-eight years old at the time of his death.
His grandfather lived to be over 100 years of age, and Grandmother Cook was
ninety-one years old at the time of her death. The parents of our subject
removed to Albany in 1832 and he grew up and attended school there. He served
three years’ apprenticeship to the trade of carpenter and joiner, during the
time taking lessons in architectural drawing, and upon reaching early manhood
he came West to Michigan, locating at Kalamazoo, where
he engaged in contracting and building, preparing all of his own plans. After a
time he gave up contracting, devoting his whole time to architectural work. He
remained there ten years. In 1861 he went to St. Louis and thence to Chicago,
where he followed his profession, and thence to Council Bluffs and Omaha. On
account of his health, he came to California in 1870 and located in Sacramento,
where for the past twenty years he has taken a leading position in his
profession in this section of the State. He superintended the construction of
the Western Hotel, Hale’s Block, and several churches, also the State Prison at
Folsom, the Nevada State Asylum, the court house at Redding, the county
hospitals at Mendocino, Tehama and Colusa, Cone & Kimball’s Block, and Odd
Fellows’ Hall at Red Bluff; also Odd Fellows’ Building and churches at
Wheatland and Redding, and churches in Stockton and in other cities and towns.
He has prepared the plans for many of the finest buildings in this section of
the State. In 1870 Mr. Cook married Miss M. Midler, of Chicago. They have four
children, viz.: Christopher, Eva, Amy and Irwin Paul. Mr. Cook belongs to
I.O.O.F., El Dorado Lodge, No. 8.
Transcribed by Vicky
Walker, 10/16/07.
Source: Davis, Hon. Win. J., An Illustrated
History of Sacramento County, California. Pages 789-790.
Lewis Publishing Company. 1890.
© 2007 Vicky Walker.