The grist mill at Cooks Mills was established by Jesse Yokom, but bought by Calvin Cook just before war broke out in 1812. The nearby Yokom house was likely used as U.S. headquarters during the brief occupation by an American force from Tuesday, October 18 to Thursday, October 20, 1814, and may have been used as a hospital after the battle. Legend has it the Americans buried the dead there, but the bodies were re-interred by the Yokoms "in the woods" in the rear of their property.