Samuel Andrew Cook was born January 28, 1849 in Ontario, Canada, and moved with his family to Wisconsin in 1856. At age 16, he enlisted as a private in Company A, Second Wisconsin Cavalry, serving under General Custer from January to November 1865. He was U.S. Postmaster in Unity, Wisconsin, 1874; Mayor of Neenah, Wisconsin, 1889; a Wisconsin State Assemblyman, 1891-1892; a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1895-1897. He donated the S.A. Cook Armory to Neenah-Menasha in 1907, was a commander of the Wisconsin G.A.R. 1915-1916. He died April 4, 1918, and is interred in Oak Hill Cemetery, Neenah, Wisconsin.

The S. A. Cook Armory

During the summer of 1906, the new armory was under construction in Neenah. It was “two stories high, with a basement extending under the entire structure. The exterior, 70 by 120 feet in size, is of red pressed brick, the color closely approaching a pinkish tint.” The construction of the armory was the culmination of an eleven year dream of S.A.’s to construct “a moderate sized building as a Memorial Hall, a monument to those gone before us and of use to the living...” The building was presented to the cities of Neenah and Menasha, and Co. I, Wisconsin National Guard, by S.A., on February 2, 1907. The first campfire was held at the armory on April 10, 1907.

Susan C. Fassbender

Outagamie and Beyond: Historical & Genealogical Research

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