The Junior League of Parkersburg has been actively involved with many charitable activities throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley. The League focuses on training women
volunteers to serve the community through volunteerism and advocacy. The members of the Junior League have been active in the development of many area nonprofit organizations, including SW Resources, the Family Crisis Intervention Center, and the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Program.

The Junior League established an endowment fund at Our Community's Foundation to be used for the preservation, restoration, improvement, or
development of the Cook House, which houses the League's headquarters.

In 1978, Mrs. Elizabeth Wolfe Eddy, a former President of the League, donated the Cook House, an important local historical site, to the Junior League of Parkersburg. The house was built in 1829 by Tillinghast A. Cook and is Parkersburg's best preserved home of this era. The late federal style home was originally the homestead of a 108 acre farm lying at the very northern edge of Parkersburg.

In 1795, Tillinghast, who was five years old at the time, left New England with his family and siblings. His parents, Captain Joseph and Betsy Cook, first settled in the little settlement of Belpre across the river from Parkersburg. Captain Cook purchased a tract of 216 acres from Dr. Joseph Spencer on the Virginia side of the river and moved his growing family to the new plot of land. The family lived in a log house large enough to accommodate his wife and twelve children. The tract later was divided between two sons, Tillinghast and Bennett.

Tillinghast Cook built a home for his family that would remain in ownership of his descendants for many years. The Cook House still stands today as a reminder and a link to the way of life during the early pioneer period of the Ohio Valley.

Mrs. Eddy was a descendant of Mr. Cook. After the house's acquisition by the Junior League in 1978, the Cook House was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places. The Junior League recognizes the important historical nature of the house and strives to preserve the house's style, character and history. The house
is furnished with some original items from the Cook family and pieces appropriate to the period.

The Cook House serves as an office for the Junior League of Parkersburg. The Junior League also provides "Open House" opportunities for public visitation and offers scheduled tours of the house for students and the general public.