Rev. W. H. H. Cook, (sculpture).

Rev. W. H. H. Cook, (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Rev. W. H. H. Cook, (sculpture).

Dedicated 1933.

Figure: marble (?); Base: stone.

Figure: approx. 6 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft.; Base: approx. 5 ft. 8 in. x 5 ft. 3 in. x 5 ft. 8 in.

(Base, south front:) ERECTED BY THE FRIENDS OF/REV. W.H.H. COOK. SOLDIER/STATESMAN AND MINISTER/BORN NOVEMBER 5, 1840/DIED FEBRUARY 11, 1923. (On sculpture plinth, front:) REV. W.H.H. COOK

A statue of Reverend W. H. H. Cook standing behind a podium. Cook has a moustache and beard. He wears a knee-length coat with lapels, a shirt, and a tie. His proper left arm rests on a book which is open on the podium and he points to the book with his finger. His proper right forearm also rests on the open book and in his proper right fist he holds an object. The sculpture is positioned atop a tiered stone base.

Portrait male -- Cook, William Henry Harrison -- Full length

Occupation -- Religion -- Clergy

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Occupation -- Other -- Reformer

Occupation -- Political

Occupation -- Education -- Teacher

Outdoor Sculpture -- West Virginia -- Pineville

Administered by Wyoming County, Wyoming County Commission, County Clerk Office, Drawer 309, Pineville, West Virginia 24874

Located Wyoming County Courthouse, Intersection of Highways 10 & 97, Pineville, West Virginia 24874

IAS files contain related articles from Bowman, Mary Keller, "Reference Book of Wyoming County History," Parsons, WV: McClain Printing Co., 1965, and Comstock, Jim, ed., "The West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia Volume 5," Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1976, which discuss Rev. Cook's life. IAS files also contain a related article from Comstock, Jim, ed., "The West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia Volume Ten and Eleven," Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1976, pg. 465, which gives a brief description of the monument.

A native of Wyoming County, William Henry Harrison Cook (1840-1863) initially enlisted in the Confederate Army, but soon left to join the Union army. In 1865, he opened the first free school in the county in his father's house and subsequently served as Baptist minister of the Rockcastle Church from 1873-1922. He fought against the opening of saloons in Wyoming County and was elected to the West Virginia Legislature in the Fall of 1886. In 1895, he was elected State Senator. Shortly before his death, a movement was initiated to erect a statue in his honor on the steps of the Wyoming County Courthouse at a cost of $3,000. Almost every family in the county contributed funds towards the cost.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, West Virginia survey, 1992.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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