Fred Cook House

Fred Cook house in September 2019.

Historical Overview

Standing at 419 Village Road East is a 2-story American Foursquare house with full length front porch and triple-dormered pyramid hip roof. This building - the Fred Cook house - is a contributing structure to the historic community of Dutch Neck and a member of West Windsor's "100 Club." 

Various records indicate this house was constructed between 1914[1] and 1920.[2] At this time, this was the easternmost corner of the larger Dutch Neck Inn property, then owned by Hiram Cook.[3] His son, Fred, is said to have built the house for his family.[4] Like his father - who by that point lived nearby at a house he had erected at 413 Village Road East[5] - Fred was a plumbing and heating contractor.[6] Also like Hiram, Fred was a founding member of the West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company.[7] He also served on the West Windsor Board of Education for 40 years (1909-49).[8]

WW Fire Co. members in the 1920s. Fred Cook is the leftmost man, with bowtie and glasses. Click to enlarge and download image.

After Fred died in 1954,[9] the house passed to his wife, Maude. She sold the house in 1957 to Richard and Nancy Anderson. Following them, in 1965, were Joseph and Elizabeth Wright. Elizabeth owned the Betty Wright Shop, a woman's specialty store, at 144 Nassau Street in Princeton.[10] After the Wrights were:

• Stanley  and Catherine Schrider (1969-74)
• Edward and Bernadette Grant (1974-83)
• Terence and Dianne Brake (starting in 1983)

The house has since passed to new owners, who maintain this contributing structure in the heart of historic Dutch Neck.

Go to Dutch Neck

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Bibliography

1. ​Britton, Mary Alice. “Cook Family History.” West Windsor, NJ, April 2008. Writeup on the history of the Cook family, by one of its family members - including a mention of Fred Cook's house being built in 1914. Stored at the Historical Society of West Windsor's Archives at the West Windsor History Museum.
2. "West Windsor Tax Assessor Address List, 2019.” West Windsor, 2019. List of all residences in West Windsor with dates of construction, according to tax assessor. Sent to the Historical Society by Lorraine Jones and Dawn Moretti.
3. Mount, Joseph, Voorhies, Elijah, Voorhies, Sarah. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1819. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 13 Page 610.
4. ​​Britton, Mary Alice. “Cook Family History.” West Windsor, NJ, April 2008. Writeup on the history of the Cook family, by one of its family members - including a mention of Fred Cook's house being built in 1914. Stored at the Historical Society of West Windsor's Archives at the West Windsor History Museum.
5. Cook, Hiram Augustus. “Hiram A. Cook - Signature.” West Windsor, NJ: 413 Village Road East, 1907. Carving in basement walls of 413 Village Road East, saying "Hiram A. Cook 1907."
6. ​"Private Fundal Rite for Frederick Cook.” Trenton Evening Times, January 15, 1954.
7. "Minutes and Records of the West Windsor Township Volunteer Fire Company, Organized March 21, 1921.” West Windsor: West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 firehouse, n.d. Minutes detailing the first 11 years (1921-1932) of the West Windsor Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1’s development.
8. ​"Horse-Drawn School Buses and $1,200 Budget Recalled By Retiring School Board Member.” Princeton Herald, February 19, 1949.
9. ​"Private Fundal Rite for Frederick Cook.” Trenton Evening Times, January 15, 1954.
10. ​​"Obituaries: Elizabeth M. Wright.” Town Topics, December 29, 1999.