Cook Forest State Park – Forest Cathedral of ancient trees offers peaceful retreat

It’s 1910 and Anthony Wayne Cook has just inherited his family’s land. Over the last 80 years, the Cook family had made their money off the land. It started with his grandfather John Cook - who purchased the land in 1828. He built a sawmill on the property to process the timber he was harvesting from the forest. Andrew Cook – Anthony’s father - would go on to build three sawmills, one flouring mill, one planning mill, a boat scaffold, several dwellings and a store on the property. While much of the beautiful landscape had been forested, some of the most stunning examples of ancient forests remained. Andrew passes away in 1891 and now it’s Anthony’s turn to take over the family business. But he had plans of his own. Anthony Cook wanted to preserve the 300-year-old towering hemlocks on his land for future generations. He wanted everyone to sit at the alter of the so-called “Forest Cathedral.” Over the next 16 years, Anthony Cook and others campaigned to preserve this magnificent landscape. In the 1920s, the Cook Forest Association was formed to save the few areas of surviving old growth timber.Endorsed by national natural resource groups and Governor Gifford Pinchot, the association raised $200,000, which helped the commonwealth purchase 6,055 acres from A. Cook Sons Company in 1927 for $640,000.Cook Forest became the first Pennsylvania state park acquired to preserve a natural area and was later designated a National Natural Landmark. Now, we have the Cook Forest State Park. with its 11 different old growth forest areas. It’s been called “The Best Old-Growth Forest” in America. On this episode, I speak with Dale Luthringer. Dale is the environmental educational specialist at Cook Forest State Park.Be sure to support our 2025 sponsors:Keystone Trails AssociationPurple Lizard MapsPennsylvania Parks and Forests FoundationSisters' SunflowersSupport the showVisit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. Hosting, production and editing: Christian AlexandersenMusic: Jon SauerGraphics: Matt Davis