Supervising Architect until 1918, when he changed jobs. He went to work as director of vocational guidance and training at Wilberforce University, where he remained until 1921. From 1921 to 1929, Cooke had a private architectural practice at 1828 Broadway, Gary, Indiana. He was also the director of Gary Building and Loan Association. Cooke was the first African American to obtain an architect’s license in the state of Indiana on October 25, 1929. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, he lost his firm and had accrued great debt, to which he was eventually able to repay. In 1931, Cooke re-joined the Office of the Supervising Architect working as a construction engineer; he designed small-town post offices in a few states. In the 1920s and 1930s, Cooke ran an organization that was anti-Ku Klux Klan, as well as anti-“Bow Tie Amalgamation” group (a Black-led group that was KKK-affiliated) in Gary, because these two groups were active locally. He retired from the federal government in 1942. Personal life He married Anne Miller, and they had two children, Anne Cooke Reid and Lloyd Miller Cooke. His wife Anne Miller's father was Thomas Ezekiel Miller, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 7th district. His son in-law was sociologist Ira De Augustine Reid, however Cooke died before the marriage. Towards the end of his life, Cooke lived at 2319 Adams Street, Gary, Indiana. Works A list of Cookes' architectural design work, broken up by project and listed in ascending date order. Claflin College United States Post Offices Cookman Institute Main building (1901), Cookman Institute (now Bethune–Cookman University), Jacksonville, Florida Dining Hall and Girls Home (1901), Cookman Institute (now Bethune–Cookman University), Jacksonville, Florida Other buildings Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youth campus building (1896), Savannah, Georgia (destroyed by fire) John Hammond Fordham residence (1903), 415 Boulevard Street, Orangeburg, South Carolina First A.M.E. Church (1923), 2001 Massachusetts Street, Gary, Indiana Asbury United Methodist Church (1920s renovation), Washington, D.C. St. John Hospital (c. 1920s), 28 E. 22nd Street, Gary, Indiana Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church (1925), 15th Avenue at Massachusetts Street, Gary, Indiana John Stewart Settlement House (1925), 1501 Massachusetts Street, Gary, Indiana; NRHP-listed Campbell Friendship House, 21st Street at Washington Avenue, Gary, Indiana See also African-American architects National Register of Historic Places listings in Orangeburg County, South Carolina References 1871 births 1949 deaths People from Greenville, South Carolina People from Gary,