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“Civilized man cannot live without Cook[e]s” –Owen Meredith
Ed Cooke was one of the sons of H. C. Cooke. This was the house of Ed Cooke; it was located on the east side of High Street where the Beechwold Theatre building—now the Columbus Sports Connection– now stands.
This is a picture taken from Ed Cooke’s yard, looking northwest toward the Webster and Browne homes. According to the picture caption written by Lulu Pearle Browne (Ohsner), the fence at the right divided Ed Cooke’s “dooryard” and “barnyard;” and a hollowed stone watering trough stood under the big tree at the corner of the picket fence to water horses going and coming from the barnyard. The larger figure standing in High Street looking north is Al Cooke. The barn across High Street is the Hess barn. (Photos courtesy of the Ron Ohsner family)
Albert Clement Cooke
Albert Clement Cooke (shown here) was one of the sons of H. C. Cooke. To the right is a picture of Albert’s house.
Albert’s land was in modern times rented for a Sandy’s restaurant, which later became a G.D. Ritzy’s ice cream parlor. Albert’s son was the first OSU athlete to participate in the Olympics; he ran in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Albert’s grandsons Carl and Grant Cooke still live in central Ohio (Photos courtesy of Carl Cooke)
Treasure Map
A handwritten map of the neighborhood, created by Lulu Pearle Browne (Ohsner), helps to clarify who lived where in the Maple Grove neighborhood in the early 1900s. You can click on this thumbnail and zoom in for a better view. (Photo courtesy of the Ron Ohsner family)
Cooke Cemetery
The Cooke family cemetery was located near the southeast corner of Cooke Road and High Street. According to genealogy records, the earliest headstone dated to 1817. Most of the graves were moved to Greenlawn or Union Cemeteries when Bishop Watterson High School was built in 1958. A few headstones were later discovered on a lot on Lenappe Drive. I would love to have some pictures of this cemetery.
There was also a John Rathbone Cemetery at the intersection of Morse and High.
George P. Whipp (b. 1817)
George Whipp came to the area with his wife and two sons from Maryland in 1833. His son George P. was 16 years at the time, and initially worked as a carpenter. Son George married Lucinda Smiley, and they had 10 children one of whom was also named George. The family farmed and had two truck stands along North High Street. (Note: Sometimes the family spells its name with one “p”.) A bit more biographical information can be found in A Centennial Biographical History of the City of Columbus and Franklin County Ohio (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1901) p. 770 excerpted here.
Whip family
One of the oldest families in Clintonville is the Whipp Family (sometimes spelled Whip). They owned a farm, and a couple of stands along High Street that had big large orange signs advertising a refreshing drink consisting of freshly squeezed orange juice. The Whipps may have been the first owners of the mill located just north of Henderson Road and the Olentangy River. Here is a picture of the Whipp family circa 1889: George, Oscar, Everett, Laura, Cora, and Mabel. (Photo courtesy of Sue Gallogly)
The Whips lived at 73 East Weisheimer.
