Cook Station, Missouri, A Short History

by William McKellipps

Cook Station takes its name from Christopher Columbus Cook who served as a Captain in the Confederate Army in the Civil War. After returning from the war Captain Cook donated two miles of land through what is now Cook Station for the St. Louis, Salem, and Little Rock railroad, which later became the Salem branch of the St. Louis – San Francisco Railroad built from 1872-1873.(1)

The town of Cook Station sprang up around the railroad. There was also a spur branch of the railroad running from Goltra (HWY M & the Mine Road) to the Sligo furnace. The spur followed the mine road (railroad spikes can still be found along the road today) until the mine road intersects the Taff Branch, from there the old rail bed cuts southeasterly through the valleys across Roberts cemetery road and on to Sligo. The old rail bed is still shown on maps and gps systems. This spur line carried iron ore to the furnaces, probably timber as well. The Craig Iron Bank is located on the mine road and is still visible. The spur line to Sligo was pulled up around 1930 after the furnace closed. The Salem Branch of the Frisco was pulled up following a flood in 1985. The tracks were badly damaged from the flood and the line had not been used regularly in a year or two.