The village of Cookhouse is situated on what was originally the site of Roodewal Farm.  The name is thought to come from the cook house a long ago farmer's wife set up, to supply travellers and British soldiers with food during their journey, at the place where they crossed the Great Fish River.

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Cookhouse boasts a famous railway station, once vital and bustling, and now, though still in use, a shadow of what it was in its heyday. The railway station has been immortalized in Chris Mann’s poem, “On Cookhouse Station”.

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Cookhouse offers the history enthusiast a number of memorials and sites that commemorate key events in South African history. These include the controversial Slaghter’s Nek Memorial monument, the Thomas Pringle cairn, and a monument erected to commemorate the Fallen Heroes of the Struggle.