Sidney Cook was born in Ellsworth in 1837 (d. 1919) and moved to Ashland with his family in the 1840s. At 18, he set out to make his way in the world. He ventured to Boston where he signed on with a whaling ship. Sidney soon realized that not only did he have a true love of the sea, but that he was a talented sailor.

In 1862, he moved to California where he had heard of the shipwreck of the steamer, “SS Golden Gate”, off of the coast of Mexico. The SS Golden Gate was carrying $1.4 million in newly minted gold as well as 338 passengers and crew, many of which had made their fortunes in the California Gold Rush. The ship was one of the fastest steamers on the West Coast. It set sail from San Francisco on Monday, July 21, 1862. On Sunday, July 27, 1862 fire broke out on board when the ship was about 15 miles offshore in a calm sea. Two hundred thirteen of the 338 on board perished. Some of the sunken treasure came from abandoned money belts and lost baggage.

Confident of his diving abilities, he put together a crew and went in search of treasure. Cook and his crew discovered three-quarters of a million dollars worth of gold and coins from this shipwreck. In fear of being cast out of the United States if they kept the money, the crew reported the booty to the rightful owners claiming a salvage reward. In essence, Cook and his crew were the forerunners of today’s modern treasure salvaging companies. The court rewarded 1/3 of the recovered treasure to the crew.

Cook knew there was more to be had and returned looking for more. By this time, other sailors had heard of the find and were also seeking the shipwreck. Cook’s skills at navigation again helped. He and his crew beat all other contenders to the treasure, where they recovered even more. Cook and his crew decided not to return to the United States with the treasure at this time. It is not known if they did not want to share their bounty with anyone, or if they were simply avoiding the Civil War which was in full swing in the United States.

In March of 1865, Sidney returned to the area. He married Hattie Perry (daughter of Nathan Perry). He and his wife built this home around 1870.

At the age of 40, Cook decided to go back to California to the diving business. When this proved less than profitable, he moved to Florida to raise oranges. The orange industry was not all he had hoped either. Cook returns home to Presque Isle to retire. In 1885, Cook sold the home on State Street to the Freemans.

Sidney Cook also played a significant role in our history of fires as well. Presque Isle suffered devastating fires during our early years. In a document dated May 4, 1876, twenty-eight men from Presque Isle signed their names pledging money to buy the town’s first pump and hose carriage. One of these men was Sidney Cook. Sidney also served as Fire Chief of Presque Isle from 1897 to 1899.

Cook was apparently a very good storyteller and wrote several articles under the pen name of “Amphibious”. In 1908, author Franklin Kent Gifford published his book, The Belle Islers under the pseudonym of Richard Brinsley Newman. Gifford lived in Presque Isle from 1874-1878 and based many of his characters after actual people who lived in Presque Isle in the 1870s. It is said that the character Sid Colville was modeled after Sidney Cook.

It is also rumored that Sidney played a role in another well-known incident in area history. On the night of April 30th, 1873, local ne’er-do-well Jim Cullen was lynched by a mob of 75 – 100 men for robbing a local store and killing some of the posse that went after him. This is the only known lynching to occur in New England. Each member of the mob was disguised and had sworn never to discuss or divulge the identity of one another. It is rumored that Sidney Cook was the one who tied the knot in the rope used to lynch Jim Cullen as the knot used was allegedly a mariner’s knot.

This house was later purchased by Harold Glidden. Glidden was responsible for Presque Isle having a television station, WAGM TV 8, and WEGP radio. The army with its base here had established an excellent communications network. With the closing of the local army airbase, rather than lose such a resource, Glidden applied for licenses to operate tv and radio stations. His descendants still resident in this home.

As a side note, Cook Florist on Main Street is owned and operated by a descendant of Sidney Cook.

USS Golden Gate	Pioneer Club with Cook on Left
Cook House