“May the time never come when the self-sacrificing toil and the daring hardihood of the pioneers of Tennessee will be forgotten or undervalued by posterity.” – Ramsey, Annals of Tennessee
The state of Tennessee came about in 1796 but that did not necessarily mean that Cumberland County immediately came to be. The land was originally inhabited by the Cherokee. If you take the time to look and search you may just find their remnants.
Eventually settlers began to travel “The Road to Somewhere Else”, as Helen Krechniak, author of Cumberland County’s First Hundred Years, calls it. The road ran from Kingston to Nashville which is now known as Interstate 40.
Many travelers taking that route stayed at some of what would become Cumberland County’s first businesses: Kemmer’s Stand, Crab Orchard Inn, Lowery’s Stand, Grime’s (Graham’s) Stand, and Johnson’s Stand.
Finally, in 1856 the Tennessee General Assembly created Cumberland County. It comprises land from Bledsoe, Roane, Morgan, Fentress, Rhea, Putnam, Overton, and White counties. The Cumberland Plateau covers 679 square miles with an elevation of 3,000 feet. The area of Scott’s Crossroads was chosen to become the City of Crossville.
Cumberland County is a land full of rich and interesting history. It’s a town full of pride and hardworking people. From the POW camp to SGT York, from the Historic Cumberland Homesteads to a land of agriculture and stone; Cumberland County has survived and prospered.
Cumberland County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Tennessee.
Stay tuned for an entire series on the history of Cumberland County, TN. We will be highlighting the industry and business that helped this beautiful town become what it is today.
*Photos and information received from the Cumberland County Archives; Cumberland County’s First Hundred Years