The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 445

MORAND D. COOKE.

One of the most successful and prosperous ranch owners of Kittitas county is
Morand Deliss Cooke, who has witnessed the entire growth of the Yakima valley,
as this section was yet untouched by man's labor when he arrived, while today it
is one of the richest agricultural districts of the state. Mr. Cooke is now
considered one of the most prosperous farmers in his vicinity, having many acres
in hay and grain and also giving considerable attention to stock raising,
ranging over seven hundred head of cattle.

He was born in Polk county, Oregon, November 27, 1855, and is a son of Charles
P. and Susan E. (Vander Cooke) Cooke, honored pioneers of Oregon. In 1849 the
father made the long trip to California, where he expected to profit through
gold mining, but soon thereafter removed to Oregon. Both he and his wife were
born in Ohio. He had enlisted from Ohio for service in the Mexican war, serving
in that conflict with the rank of lieutenant. Mrs. Charles P. Cooke had removed
to Oregon in 1850, by the overland route, the family locating in Independence.
The father of our subject was for many years a successful farmer in that state,
having taken up a preemption claim. In 1867, however, he came to Yakima county,
Washington, where for three years he farmed on the Moxee, at the end of which
period he removed to the Kittitas valley, where the Cooke family was the third
to settle. Wild game was plentiful at this time and many Indians were yet
roaming the wilds. Cariboo creek then had the name of Salaham and Cooke creek
was called Pachunme, while Coleman creek had the name of Altapus creek and
Wilson creek that of Nanum creek. Those were the original appellations and the
creeks have since been renamed. In their part of the valley the Cooke family
were the first settlers, although there were two families living at some
distance away. With them they brought one hundred and seventy-five head of
cattle and the father became one of the large cattle raisers here. In the early
days all the supplies had to be brought from The Dalles, a long journey of about
two hundred and twenty-five miles. This hazardous trip was undertaken every
fall and enough provisions were brought in to last for a year. At that time the
cattle were taken to the Pacific coast, where they were sold and in order to
take them there they had to be trailed across the Cascades. That the rural
delivery system was not yet in operation may be inferred from the fact that
while they were residing on the Moxee their postoffice was one hundred and
thirty miles removed, as they had to get their letters from Umatilla. At that
time members of four families took turns to ride to the postoffice about every
two weeks in order to get the mail. When the Cooke family made their way to the
Kittitas valley they had to move along on the Indian trails, as no roads or
bridges were in existence, and for three years after they had settled here they
rarely saw a white man. Upon locating on the Pachunme creek they renamed it
Cooke creek and that name has been used ever since. In their relations with the
Indians they were fortunate, as the family always treated them with
consideration and justly. The Indians therefore remained friendly except during
the period of the Umatilla war, when all of the settlers had to retire into the
fort and hostile Indians made raids through the valley. The settlers armed
themselves with two hundred Springfield army rifles, taking them from the eight
hundred at the fort and each settler was given fifty rounds of ammunition. Thus
they were well fortified to await further developments and depredations, but
only twelve hostile Indians passed through the valley, stealing sixty horses.
The Perkins family, however, was murdered during this uprising. At that time
Morand D. Cooke and his brother-in-law were camping out with a pack outfit but
somehow they escaped the watchfulness of the Indians, who passed their camp at
night within a few hundred feet. Mr. Cooke well knew old Chief Joseph, who often
camped on his ranch. He was chief of the Umatillas and one of the leading
Indians of his time. He was at the head of hundreds of them who were permitted
to camp upon the Cooke ranch each spring. In the pursuit of game they still used
bows and arrows. Near the ranch of Mr. Cooke, Sr., grew in profusion the camas
or tub lily, the great Indian vegetable. These were eagerly gathered by the
Indians, who came here for that purpose by the thousands. The roots of these
lilies were dug up, dried and afterward made into flour. They also used to have
great horse races here and Mr. Cooke himself learned to speak the Indian
language well. Charles P. Cooke lived to the age of eighty-eight years and is
still survived by his widow, who has now reached the venerable age of
eighty-seven years. He not only took a most prominent part in the early
agricultural development of his section but also was deeply interested in public
affairs and his prominence is easily gleaned from the fact that he served for
four terms in the territorial legislature, ably performing his duties in framing
the laws of the state and well taking care of the interests of his constituents
and section. In this way his activities became part of the history of the
Yakima valley. In conjunction with Mortimer Thorp, Elvin Thorp and Charles
Splawn, C. P. Cooke organized the original Yakima county, which then extended
from The Dalles, Oregon, to the British line. He subsequently also assisted in
organizing Kittitas county and during all of his career held numerous public
offices, the duties of which he ever discharged with faithfulness and ability.
Even when he was a member of the territorial legislature he stood for woman's
rights and throughout his active political career maintained that standpoint. He
was a democrat by persuasion and faithfully supported that party. He also had
the distinction of having been instrumental in founding the first school in the
Kittitas valley, when he hired a private tutor in order to instruct members of
his family. His importance along agricultural lines is evident from the fact
that it was he who planted the first timothy hay in the valley and also set out
the first fruit trees, thus laying the foundations for two industries which have
proven of the greatest value to later settlers. From the beginning success
attended the efforts of Mr. Cooke, for he was ever circumspect, industrious and
persevering and closely studied conditions. It was he who built the first
irrigation ditch in the Kittitas valley in 1870, taking it from Cooke creek to
his orchard, which thereby was greatly benefited.

Morand D. Cooke was reared under the parental roof and received his first
lessons of life under the guidance of his good parents, who instilled in him
those principles of honesty, industry and perseverance which have been the
foundation of his success. He received his first education through the private
tutor which his father had provided and also attended schools of the
neighborhood and at Independence, Oregon, remaining upon the home farm and
assisting his father in its work until twenty-one years of age, thus becoming
thoroughly acquainted with the latest and most resultant methods of agriculture.
Having reached his majority, Mr. Cooke started upon his independent career,
which has been devoted exclusively to farming. In the course of time he has
owned three farms, of which he has disposed, however, but now has a fine ranch
eleven miles northeast of Ellensburg which is largely devoted to stock
interests. He is one of the most prominent horse and cattle men of his section
and now has over seven hundred head of cattle, being very successful in the
range cattle and stock business. Keeping thoroughly informed in regard to market
conditions, he disposes of his cattle to the best advantage, displaying in all
of his business activities, sound judgment and keen discrimination. With the
details of the live stock business he is thoroughly familiar and it is therefore
but natural that prosperity has come to him. When a young man of only nineteen
years, in 1874, Mr. Cooke and his brother-in-law, Charles Coleman, were the
first assessors of the Wenatchee valley, property there being put upon the
assessor's books in that year for the first time.

In 1888 Mr. Cooke was united in marriage to Miss Belle Fulton, a native of Idaho
and a daughter of Frank and Belle (Clemmons) Fulton, pioneers of Idaho, who
later removed to Texas and thence to the Kittitas valley about 1887. To Mr. and
Mrs. Cooke were born six children: Lester B., a graduate of Pullman College, who
during his university days was renowned as the greatest athletic star of his
school, is now following ranching near Sunnyside, Washington, is married and has
one child; Frank attended Pullman College for two, years and is now engaged in
the creamery business in Bremerton, Washington, he is also married; Charles P.,
twin to Frank, remains upon the home farm, being in partnership with his father;
Earl is also at home and now, at the age of twenty-one, is attending Pullman
College; Edna, at home, is a graduate of Wilson's Modern Business College at
Seattle; Ruth, the youngest of the family, is the wife of Cecil Houser, who is a
rancher of the Kittitas valley. Mrs. Cooke attends the Christian church, which
denomination she readily supports.

Mr. Cooke, who not only enjoys a high reputation as a substantial citizen but
also is honored as a pioneer, has witnessed the entire growth of the Yakima and
Kittitas valleys, to which growth he has largely and helpfully contributed
through his valuable activities. Politically he is independent, voting according
to the dictates of his judgment. Of his valuable stock farm he now has one
hundred and seventy-four acres in hay, most of which he uses in feeding his
stock. He has many friends in the valley, all of whom admire him as a man of
sterling character whose word is as good as his bond. His and his family's
history are a part of the history of the state in which he resides and are
closely interwoven and his record is therefore of interest to all those who
have now become settlers of this prosperous valley.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.