Old Cook Home

Duane's take

The official marker's the word on this one, and here's how Duane tells it. Now, out in Burnet County there stands a house that has been quietly outlasting just about everything around it. Built in 1873, in the Victorian style, and whoever put it up was not thinking small.

A large bay window letting in all that Texas light. A solid walnut staircase, the kind you feel under your boots with every step. Three fireplaces, because one is a luxury and three is a statement.

The house got remodeled somewhere along the way, sure. Things change. But here is the part worth noting: the original floor plan held.

Through all of it, the bones stayed true. Then comes 1890, and a man named Judge J. G.

Cook steps into the story. A noted lawyer, the marker calls him, and when a marker takes the time to call a man noted, you pay attention. The Judge bought the house, and from that point forward it carried the Cook name.

Not for a year, not for a decade. The home remained in the Cook family for several generations. Several generations.

Think about what passes through a house in that kind of time. The walnut staircase hearing all of it. That bay window still looking out on Burnet County, same as it has since 1873.

What the marker says

Built 1873 in Victorian style, with large bay window, solid walnut staircase, three fireplaces; was remodeled but retains original floor plan. House was bought 1890 by Judge J. G. Cook, a noted lawyer, and remained in Cook family several generations. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968