In 1795, Tillinghast Cook, who was five years old at the time, left New England with his family and siblings. His parents, Captain Joseph Cook 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 Ohio 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 in 1829 on his 108 acre plot that would remain in ownership of his descendants for many years.

In 1978, Mrs. Elizabeth Wolfe Eddy, a descendent of Tillinghast Cook and a former President of the Junior League of Parkersburg (JLP), donated the Cook House, an important local historical site, to the JLP. After the house's acquisition by the JLP in 1978, the Cook House was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places. The JLP recognized the important historical nature of the house and worked to preserve the house's style, character and history. The house was furnished with some original items from the Cook family and pieces appropriate to the period.

In 1990, the JLP established an endowment fund with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation to be used for the preservation, restoration, improvement, or development of the Cook House, which housed the League's headquarters.

In 2023, the JLP gifted the Cook House to the Oil, Gas And Industrial Historical Association, Inc., which now maintains the property. The Cook House Support Fund continues to provide monetary assistance for the upkeep of one of the region's oldest homes.