LANDMARKS / COUNTY HISTORICAL SITES : Cook Mansion a Century-Old Survivor

The Cook Mansion, also known as the Piru Mansion, is a historical landmark, but only the floor tiles, bricks and brownstone are more than 10 years old.

After a fire destroyed the house in 1981, owners Ruth and Scott Newhall devoted themselves to a faithful reconstruction of the building. The project took almost three years to complete--as long as it took David C. Cook to build the original house more than 100 years ago.

Lacking the original plans, workers were guided in the effort by numerous photographs. Today, only details distinguish the finished reconstruction from photographs of the mansion before the fire.

Ruth Newhall likes to point out the tower at the front of the house, where the original egg-shaped finial at the top has been replaced by a carved redwood bird--a phoenix rising out of the ashes.

The Newhalls attribute the Queen Anne-style design to Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom, Victorian architects renowned in California.

The exterior is redwood, topped by a gabled slate roof. The brownstone on the tower, steps and patio was brought by Cook’s workmen from Sespe Creek 10 miles away. Circular frames set off stained-glass windows, and a large C, for Cook, curves around an upstairs pane.

Inside, elaborate carving, reproductions of many of the original designs, decorates doorways, bookcases and the main staircase.

Some improvements have been made to the house, including heat and air conditioning. Unmortared bricks placed between interior and exterior walls during original construction for insulation have been replaced by modern materials.

Plumbing added around the turn of the century has been modernized, although a small circular building that served as a three-hole outhouse still stands behind the mansion.

Tours usually include a few stories about the original owner. Cook was an Illinois publisher of religious books who came to California because of ill health. He planted his fruit ranch almost exclusively with trees mentioned in the Bible.

The story goes that Cook envisioned Piru as a Garden of Eden, demanding appropriate behavior from his workers. More than one employee lost his job after Cook caught him swearing, smoking or drinking alcohol.

* HISTORY: The Cook Mansion in Piru was built by David C. Cook between 1887 and 1890. He ran a fruit ranch in the area for 13 years before selling the house to a local family, the Warrings. The current owners, Ruth and Scott Newhall, acquired the property in the 1960s.

* LOCATION: 829 N. Park St., about a mile north of California 126 in the unincorporated community of Piru.

* HOURS: The mansion is a private residence, but public tours are conducted several times a year. For information, call the Cultural Heritage Board at 654-3967.