The firm was established in 1852 by former
Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works superintendent (and son-in-law of
William Swinburne of
Swinburne, Smith and Company) John Cooke and former
Montreal resident Charles Danforth as the
Danforth, Cooke, and Company, as a manufacturer of steam locomotives as well as cotton machinery. The company was renamed
Danforth Locomotive and Machine Company in 1865, with Danforth serving as president until 1871, four years before his death in 1875. Cooke succeeded Danforth as president in 1871, continuing in such capacity until his own death in 1882, after which Cooke's sons, John, Frederick, and Charles reorganized the firm as the
Cooke Locomotive and Machine Works, and continued operating the company as such until the merger in 1901., 1910 In 1901, Cooke and several other locomotive manufacturers merged to form the
American Locomotive Company; Cooke's plant becomes the Alco-Cooke Works, and locomotive production continued at the plant until 1926. Approximately 2600 locomotives were built by Cooke from 1852 to 1901, among the most notable engines produced by the firm are the
C. P. Huntington, and the
Western & Atlantic Railroad "Texas". ==Exports==