| Cumberland County is made up of 71 communities, originally isolated because of its lack of roads, but each included its own store, post office, school, and church. Originally Indian territory, it was not until 1805, that pioneers began to visit the area. The Crab Orchard Inn was built to serve travelers to the region, including once paying host to President Andrew Jackson. Cumberland County officially had its start in 1855. Crossville was named the county seat because of it being the intersection of old Nashville-Knoxville Road and the Kentucky-Chattanooga Stock Road and thanks to James Scott, a tavern proprietor, who donated 40 acres to persuade legislators in their decision. The second courthouse celebrated its 107th birthday in 1998 and is being renovated as the county museum. Both it and the present third courthouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. In 1901, Crossville was incorporated and began its long existence as a sleepy little village hidden among the hills in the legendary Cumberland Mountains. In the late 1930s, the Cumberland Homesteads Project was begun under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's recovery program following the Great Depression. Farms of five to fifty acres were carved from a 29,000-acre tract of land, and distributed to 256 homesteaders, with a home and barn built on each farm. A sizable number of the original families or their descendants remain on these properties. The Homesteads Tower, a marvelous octagonal stone tower built as part of the project, contains a water tank and a winding stairway to a lookout platform at the top. Four large rooms at the base contain a museum and are also used for various community activities. Although now within easy reach via I-40, and with over two million visitors per year, Crossville remains one of the best-kept secrets in Tennessee. Other interesting historic and scenic sites in the county include Pioneer Hall Museum in Pleasant Hill, Crab Orchard (the oldest community), Grassy Cove, Stonehaus and Highland Manor Wineries, Cumberland Mountain State Rustic Park, Scott's Gulf, Potter's Ford, and the Crossville Depot, where Sgt. Alvin York boarded a train for fame and glory as the most prominent hero of World War I. | | |
