Abner Hugh Cook (March 15, 1814 – February 22, 1884) was a self-taught Texas architect and
general contractor responsible for the design of several historic and notable buildings in Texas, particularly
Austin, such as the
Texas Governor's Mansion
The Texas Governor's Mansion is a historic home for the governor of Texas in downtown Austin, Texas. Designed by prominent architect Abner Cook, it was built in 1854 and has been the home of every governor since 1856. Governor Greg Abbott and ...
. He also designed the west wing of the original main building of the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...
(since demolished) and the first state penitentiary in
Huntsville
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
.
Biography
Cook was born near
Salisbury, North Carolina, the son of William and Susanna (née Hill) Cook. He may have done a construction apprenticeship in Salisbury. At age 21, Cook moved to
Macon, Georgia and found work in construction. When the
Panic of 1837 brought building to a halt, Cook moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, but there was little work to be found in Nashville, and he moved to Texas in 1839.
Cook settled in Austin and supported himself with private commissions for houses and furniture. Cook helped form the first
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
church in Austin and built the congregation's first log church with his own hands.
On September 15, 1842, he married Eliza T. Logan, with whom he had four sons. During this time there was little building construction in Austin so he partnered in 1840 with Jacob Higgins in ownership of The Higgins Mill in
Bastrop.
[ Texas State Historical Association]
Notable works
In 1847, Cook built a large residence for a wealthy Austin patron. Between summer 1848 until early 1850 he was at Huntsville, supervising the construction of the
Texas State Penitentiary
Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Ins ...
and served as its first superintendent. Cook then designed and built three large
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
homes in Austin which still stand:
Woodlawn (1853), the Texas Governor's Mansion (1855), and the
Neill-Cochran House (1855).
Later life
As more trained architects moved to Austin after the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, Cook concentrated on construction. He built residences, commercial buildings and the west wing of the main building of the newly founded University of Texas.
Death
He died on February 22, 1884, in Austin and was buried in
Oakwood Cemetery.
Gallery
File:Woodlawn austin 2006.jpg, Woodlawn (1853)
File:Neill cochran house 2007.jpg, Neill-Cochran House (1855)
File:Texas governors mansion.jpg, Texas Governor's Mansion (1855)
File:Las ventanas 2007.jpg, Las Ventanas
Las Ventanas is a Chilean city in Puchuncaví commune, Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region
The Valparaíso Region ( es, Región de Valparaíso, links=no, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Re ...
(1875)
File:Historic American Buildings Survey, Arthur W. Stewart, Photographer November 27, 1936 SOUTHEAST ELEVATION. - Judge Sebron G. Sneed House, Route I-35 and Bluff Springs Road, HABS TEX,227-AUSTIN.V,1-3.tif, Judge Sebron G. Sneed House (likely designed by Cook)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Abner Hugh
1884 deaths
1814 births
Architects from Texas
19th-century American architects