If Fodderstack Could Speak: Sam Cook, Mountain Man

Sam Cook was an experienced mountaineer who lived in Walker Valley for a period of time in the early 20th century. He and his wife Minnie moved to the region from North Carolina and briefly resided along White Oak Flats Branch, presumably in the Moore homeplace. In 1907 they relocated to the Spicewoods where they lived in the Stinnett house, which had been recently vacated by Ben Stinnett following the death of his wife Millie. Ben and Millie were the parents of Mary “Moll” Stinnett, the third wife of Will Walker. 

Sam and Minnie Cook had four children at the time they moved to the Spicewoods: Doc, Eva, Freddie, and Vannie. A fifth child was born in the Elkmont area after the family moved out of Walker Valley. 

Sam kept cattle and hogs. He was also a guide and according to one source had a “little jenny” (possibly a machine for spinning wool). 

One client for his guide service was the writer Laura Thornburgh who was accompanied by another female Knoxville journalist on her journey through the Smokies. Writing under the pen name, Laura Thornborough,  the author reportedly carried a pistol for the duration of the trip. For years afterward, she kept a handwritten note Sam had left for her, adding punctuation but otherwise leaving the text unaltered. The person addressed as ‘Co.’ is Colonel W.B. Townsend, president of Little River Lumber Company:

Miss Laura thorn Burgh, I got your letter. I Haint spoken to the Co. yet. The Co. has Built a find Hotell at treemont and a nice Store. You can come on trail too treemont Hotell. You can get some nice tramps Hear. Your friend, Sam Cook.

Sam was the father of Vannie Cook, whose tragic death in 1910 was a major event. Her story is told in the book A Home in Walker Valley.

One of the pallbearers who carried Vannie’s body from the Cook homeplace to the cemetery was Bill Franklin. Bill was a young boy when his father joined the Mormon Church and moved to Utah. Deciding to remain in Walker Valley upon being given the choice, he was raised by Will and Nancy Walker who themselves practiced a form of polygamy. 

A few years after Vannie’s death, in 1912 or 1913, Sam moved his family to Jake’s Creek in Elkmont. The cabin was located along the creek near where it meets Newt Prong, not far from the Avent Cabin, which still stands today. (Some sources claim the Avent cabin and the Cook family residence are one and the same while others disagree.) The old Cook homeplace is described as windowless and containing one main room with a partition, plus a back room. Onto the back of the house, Sam built an add-on that was used as a kitchen and dining room. 

Roy Cook, the fifth child, was born during the time the family lived near Elkmont. Like his sister Vannie whom he never met, he was said to be very intelligent. His parents eventually sent him to Murphy College. Sam was none too pleased to learn that his youngest son was spending his time fishing, hunting, and camping rather than attending classes.  

While living in the Elkmont area, Sam used his steers Black and Coalie to conduct a small-scale logging operation along Blanket Creek, assisted by his brother (or possibly his wife’s brother) George. Sam was a saw sharpener, a useful profession during the logging era. Considered one of the best, he sharpened many saws for the Little River Lumber Company. 

Sam sold his land in the 1930s, presumably to the Park Commission, and moved to Dumplin Creek near Kodak, Tennessee. In his final years, he suffered a stroke while Minnie became (in the terminology of her day) an “invalid.” She died in January 1950 while Sam died in July of that same year. According to their granddaughter Iva Cook Franklin, Sam had a full head of hair with very little gray in it when he died at age 77. 

Both Sam and Minnie are buried in the Valley View Cemetery in Wears Valley. Their daughter, Eva, who married Steve Ownby, is buried in Wears Valley. Freddie is buried in Elkmont.

Like Will Walker, Sam Cook was a skillful and highly respected woodsman, one of the last of his kind. Though he lived in the Elkmont area for far longer than he did in Walker Valley, it’s here that he seems to have left his mark. Three natural features bear his name, each of them located in the headwaters of the Middle Prong river: Sam’s Creek, Sam’s Gap, and Sam’s Ridge.