{"nrhp_refnum":"78003090","name":"Cook, Col. Edward, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of Belle Vernon","address_restricted":false,"city":"Belle Vernon","county":"Fayette County","state":"PA","lat":40.12696527600008,"lon":-79.82706282899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-03-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story post-Colonial style stone house with a one-story kitchen wing, located in Washington Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Its walls are coursed limestone quarried on the property.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is one of the earliest stone houses built west of the Alleghenies and remained in the Cook family for more than two centuries. It is also tied to Colonel Edward Cook's prominent role in early western Pennsylvania, including his service in the Provincial Congress, local offices, and leadership in the Whiskey Insurrection of 1794.","narrative":"Built of coursed limestone quarried on the property, this two-story house in Washington Township, Fayette County, was begun by Colonel Edward Cook in 1772 and completed in 1776, despite frontier hardships and Lord Dunmore's War in 1774. A one-story kitchen stood on the north end by the time of the Direct Tax of 1798. The house measures 36 by 28 feet, with a four-bay east facade, double-hung sash windows, and louvered shutters. It is regarded as one of the earliest stone houses built west of the Alleghenies and one of the most substantial of its time. Cook served as a member of the Provincial Congress in 1776, a member of the state constitutional convention, and commander of a frontier ranger company in 1781. He held county judicial posts from 1786 onward and chaired insurgent meetings during the Whiskey Insurrection of 1794, including at Parkinson's Ferry. He died in the house on November 28, 1808, and the Cook family kept it for more than two centuries.","period_of_significance":"1772-1776","architect_builder":"Colonel Edward Cook","architectural_style":"Post-Colonial","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Minor renovation in 1952 added a kitchen addition and altered windows; the main house is rented and the former kitchen is occupied by a family member.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.603408-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78003090.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003090/46cac2db8a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003090/46cac2db8a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Leo A. McMullen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Col._Edward_Cook_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Leo A. McMullen</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Col._Edward_Cook_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994602","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col._Edward_Cook_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5141761"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/fayette-county/cook-col-edward-house-78003090/"}