Sheila Cook Collection
Collection
Identifier: CHC064
Collection Description
The papers within this collection represent several decades of activism and civic involvement in Cambridge, composed primarily of Sheila Cook’s personal and organizational correspondence, as well as relevant newspaper clippings and government documents. Materials in this collection span the years 1830-2012, the bulk of the Sheila Cook Collection focuses on the years 1990-2002. The papers in this collection are largely concerned with her dedication to the Cambridge community.
Dates
- 1830-2012
- Majority of material found within 1990-2002
Language of Materials
Material is in English.
Access
Collection is available for research under the CHC rules of use.
Copyright Notice
Copyright for materials resides with the creators of the items in question, unless otherwise designated.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to understand and observe copyright law and to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyright. Questions concerning copyright and permission to publish should be directed to the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to understand and observe copyright law and to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyright. Questions concerning copyright and permission to publish should be directed to the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives.
Historical Note
Ms. Sheila Cook was born in 1919, the second of five children, to Elisabeth Chafee Gamble and James Lawder Gamble, who was a doctor at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Ms. Cook graduated from Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 1942, where she studied social work. The years immediately following her graduation, during which the United States was heavily mired in World War II, were spent in Washington, D.C., where she worked for the Federal Housing Administration.
Ms. Gamble married Charles D. Cook on March 10, 1945, and the couple settled in Cambridge. It was at this time that Ms. Cook became active in Cambridge’s city planning and zoning, studying in Harvard University’s Department of Urban Planning and Design and involving herself in a number of city projects. She was appointed to a city committee to study the value of zoning in the 1950s, for instance, and helped to write the Cambridge zoning code in the 1960s.
The Cooks relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, where they lived for 11 years, and where Ms. Cook worked in the schools. In 1974, the couple separated, followed by a formal divorce on May 12, 1976. Ms. Cook returned to Cambridge, purchasing and moving into 34 Follen Street, the home occupied until her passing on January 22, 2017.
After her return to Cambridge Ms. Cook split her time between social work, writing and community activism. While she founded and ran her own business — the Women’s Job Counseling Center — and authored two books — Dear Miss Hyde : The Friendship between Ellen Hyde, Principal of the First State Normal School in Framingham, Massachusetts and the Chafee, Sharpe, & Gamble Families, As Chronicled by Their Letters 1898-1926 and The Great Swamp of Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge : an historic perspective of its development, 1630-2001 — the papers in the Sheila Cook Collection are largely concerned with her dedication to the Cambridge community.
Ms. Cook was extremely active in zoning, historic preservation and civic causes in Cambridge. To give but one example, she was instrumental in the push to establish a Follen Street historic district, and when this failed in 1985, became part of the eventually successful alternative: the inclusion of Follen Street in the Old Cambridge Historic District. Her activism led to involvement in a number of community organizations, and these include (but are not limited to) Cambridge Neighborhood Nine Association, Neighbors of the Harvard Law School Lincoln’s Inn Society, Friends of the Cambridge Public Library, Follen Street Longy Committee, Supporters of Arsenal Square, Alewife Neighbors Inc., Coalition for Alewife, Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods, Friends of Alewife Reservation, Mystic River Watershed Association, Charles River Watershed Association, Friends of the Charles River White Geese, and the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club. In at least four of these — Cambridge Neighborhood Nine Association, Coalition for Alewife, Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods, and the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club — she had assumed leadership roles in an official capacity.
Ms. Gamble married Charles D. Cook on March 10, 1945, and the couple settled in Cambridge. It was at this time that Ms. Cook became active in Cambridge’s city planning and zoning, studying in Harvard University’s Department of Urban Planning and Design and involving herself in a number of city projects. She was appointed to a city committee to study the value of zoning in the 1950s, for instance, and helped to write the Cambridge zoning code in the 1960s.
The Cooks relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, where they lived for 11 years, and where Ms. Cook worked in the schools. In 1974, the couple separated, followed by a formal divorce on May 12, 1976. Ms. Cook returned to Cambridge, purchasing and moving into 34 Follen Street, the home occupied until her passing on January 22, 2017.
After her return to Cambridge Ms. Cook split her time between social work, writing and community activism. While she founded and ran her own business — the Women’s Job Counseling Center — and authored two books — Dear Miss Hyde : The Friendship between Ellen Hyde, Principal of the First State Normal School in Framingham, Massachusetts and the Chafee, Sharpe, & Gamble Families, As Chronicled by Their Letters 1898-1926 and The Great Swamp of Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge : an historic perspective of its development, 1630-2001 — the papers in the Sheila Cook Collection are largely concerned with her dedication to the Cambridge community.
Ms. Cook was extremely active in zoning, historic preservation and civic causes in Cambridge. To give but one example, she was instrumental in the push to establish a Follen Street historic district, and when this failed in 1985, became part of the eventually successful alternative: the inclusion of Follen Street in the Old Cambridge Historic District. Her activism led to involvement in a number of community organizations, and these include (but are not limited to) Cambridge Neighborhood Nine Association, Neighbors of the Harvard Law School Lincoln’s Inn Society, Friends of the Cambridge Public Library, Follen Street Longy Committee, Supporters of Arsenal Square, Alewife Neighbors Inc., Coalition for Alewife, Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods, Friends of Alewife Reservation, Mystic River Watershed Association, Charles River Watershed Association, Friends of the Charles River White Geese, and the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club. In at least four of these — Cambridge Neighborhood Nine Association, Coalition for Alewife, Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods, and the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club — she had assumed leadership roles in an official capacity.
Extent
1 cubic foot
Scope and Content
The papers in the Sheila Cook Collection are largely concerned with her dedication to the Cambridge community. Issues and conflicts within the Follen Street community were central concerns of Ms. Cook’s, and are evident in these papers. Her interests, however, extended to the greater Cambridge area; within this collection, a significant focus exists on planning and zoning in historic areas (Series II); preservation of waterways and nature reserves, specifically the Alewife Reservation (Series III); and the Cambridge gardening community (Series IV).
While materials in this collection span the years 1830-2012, the bulk of the Sheila Cook Collection focuses on the years 1990-2002. The Sheila Cook Collection presents an important glimpse into the development and preservation of both the historic and ecological aspects of the greater Cambridge area. It is unique in its perspective — that of a citizen activist and longtime resident — and of lasting value to those who strive to understand Cambridge affairs in the years leading up to and following the turn of the century.
While materials in this collection span the years 1830-2012, the bulk of the Sheila Cook Collection focuses on the years 1990-2002. The Sheila Cook Collection presents an important glimpse into the development and preservation of both the historic and ecological aspects of the greater Cambridge area. It is unique in its perspective — that of a citizen activist and longtime resident — and of lasting value to those who strive to understand Cambridge affairs in the years leading up to and following the turn of the century.
Collection Arrangement
- Series I -- Personal
- Series II -- Old Cambridge Historic District
- Series III -- Rivers and Wetlands
- Series IV -- Cambridge Gardens
- Series V -- Belmont
Physical Location
Collection is stored on-site
Provenance
The Sheila Cook Collection was donated to the Cambridge Historical Commission by Ms. Sheila Cook in January 2012.
Processing Information
Processing and finding aid by Caitlin Birch, April 2012. Updated by Brittany Fox, September 2020.
Encoded by: Brittany Fox, September 2020.
Encoded by: Brittany Fox, September 2020.
- Charles River (Mass.)
- City planning
- Community gardens
- Environmental protection
- Historic districts
- Historic preservation
- Volunteer workers in city planning
- Volunteer workers in environmental protection
- Water resources development--Environmental aspects
- Wetland conservation
- Women and city planning
- Zoning
- Title
- Inventory of the Sheila Cook Collection, 1830-2012, bulk 1990-2002
- Author
- Processing and finding aid by Caitlin Birch, April 2012. Finding aid updated by Brittany Fox, September 2020. Machine-readable finding aid by Brittany Fox, September 2020.
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Was Prepared Using Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives Repository
Contact:
831 Massachusetts Avenue
2nd Floor
Cambridge Massachusetts 02139 US
617-349-4683
histcomm@cambridgema.gov
831 Massachusetts Avenue
2nd Floor
Cambridge Massachusetts 02139 US
617-349-4683
histcomm@cambridgema.gov