Edward Cook arrived in Pitt Meadows in 1877 and took on a crown grant of 72 acres of land located on Ford Road between Harris and Baynes Roads. Within a few years his new bride, Annie Louise Cook (the “first bride ever brought home to Pitt Meadows”),arrived by sternwheeler, disembarking at Bonson’s Landing early in July on a day when the mosquitoes were so thick “the sun was blacked out”. In 1914 the couple built their dream house on the property. The one story structure was considered a landmark on Harris Road and its lawns were known throughout the community for croquet other lawn games played thereon.
“About 1916 or 1917 they built a lovely new house about 100 feet off Harris Road with nice lawns and equipped with several lawn games. They had also cleared many acres of land by then and all were planted with strawberries which grew so well on their land”. (Edith Lillly – Cook granddaughter, 1980 c.)
After the deaths of Edward and Annie Louise Cook the property came into the possession of their sons. While the other brothers sold off their lots early, Harry Cook, who had the section of the property with the house, held on to his until1976 when the municipality expropriated the property for the purpose of developing a new municipal hall site. Harry was given permission to continue to occupy the property for a few years after the expropriation but the day finally came when he had to be removed from the site. On that day, it is said, Harry, who was in his early 80’s, sat in a chair on the beautiful wrap around porch and greeted the men from the municipality with a shot gun. No shots were taken, the municipality prevailed and Harry Cook was moved out of the house which stood empty for some time and was eventually demolished. The beautiful lawns were replaced many years ago with a parking lot and strip mall. Today the mall is gone and new housing is going in. Harry Cook passed away in 1985 at the age of 89. Saddened about the loss of his home, he once stated to a local newspaper “we had a crown land deed which nobody can take away but the Queen, but they did and they did it under false pretenses”.","SEO_LINK":"harry-cook-house","VIDEO_LINK":"","SOUNDCLOUD_LINK":"","IMG1":"1625252149_main_harry-cook-house_1.jpg","IMG2":"","IMG3":"","IMG4":"","IMG5":"","IMG6":"","IMG7":"","IMG1_THUMB":"1625252149_thumb_harry-cook-house_1.jpg","IMG2_THUMB":"","IMG3_THUMB":"","IMG4_THUMB":"","IMG5_THUMB":"","IMG6_THUMB":"","IMG7_THUMB":""}X
Harry Cook House
The porch column and post box found in this exhibit are two of only a handful of objects that are left from the once stately residence of the Edward Cook family.
Edward Cook arrived in Pitt Meadows in 1877 and took on a crown grant of 72 acres of land located on Ford Road between Harris and Baynes Roads. Within a few years his new bride, Annie Louise Cook (the “first bride ever brought home to Pitt Meadows”),arrived by sternwheeler, disembarking at Bonson’s Landing early in July on a day when the mosquitoes were so thick “the sun was blacked out”. In 1914 the couple built their dream house on the property. The one story structure was considered a landmark on Harris Road and its lawns were known throughout the community for croquet other lawn games played thereon.
“About 1916 or 1917 they built a lovely new house about 100 feet off Harris Road with nice lawns and equipped with several lawn games. They had also cleared many acres of land by then and all were planted with strawberries which grew so well on their land”. (Edith Lillly – Cook granddaughter, 1980 c.)
After the deaths of Edward and Annie Louise Cook the property came into the possession of their sons. While the other brothers sold off their lots early, Harry Cook, who had the section of the property with the house, held on to his until1976 when the municipality expropriated the property for the purpose of developing a new municipal hall site. Harry was given permission to continue to occupy the property for a few years after the expropriation but the day finally came when he had to be removed from the site. On that day, it is said, Harry, who was in his early 80’s, sat in a chair on the beautiful wrap around porch and greeted the men from the municipality with a shot gun. No shots were taken, the municipality prevailed and Harry Cook was moved out of the house which stood empty for some time and was eventually demolished. The beautiful lawns were replaced many years ago with a parking lot and strip mall. Today the mall is gone and new housing is going in. Harry Cook passed away in 1985 at the age of 89. Saddened about the loss of his home, he once stated to a local newspaper “we had a crown land deed which nobody can take away but the Queen, but they did and they did it under false pretenses”.
Details:
Latitude: 49.2211806191066
Longitude: -122.68989202907
Direct Link: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/locations/harry-cook-house
