History of Cumberland County Tennessee United States of America

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Cumberland County was erected in 1856 from parts of White, VanBuren, Bledsoe, Rhea, Roane, Morgan and Putnam. It was named for the Cumberland Mountains, on whose crest it lies, and they, as well as the Cumberland River, were named by Dr. Thomas Walker in honor of the Duke of Cumberland. The first county court was held at Crossville, the county seat, located near the center of the county.

The fruits and vegetables of this county, as well as the mountain counties generally, possess peculiar excellencies of freedom from insect pests as well as beauty and flavor. As early as the founding of the county itself this fact was known and J. W. Dodge, who lived near Crossville, took many prizes for his apples.

Statistics of Cumberland County: Population, 1920, 10,094. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,232,844. Area, nearly 800 square miles. Number of farms, 1,267. Railway mileage, 58. Situated centrally upon the Cumberland Plateau, at an average elevation of nearly 2,000 feet, it is drained by the effluents of both the Cumberland and the Tennessee rivers. The surface is gently undulating, generally covered with timber. Luxuriant native grasses make it one of the best counties in the state for grazing cattle. There are many deposits of coal in the county and several mines are in operation. Land excellently adapted to truck and fruit growing. Soil especially suited to Irish potatoes. Crossville, the county seat, with a population of 948, is on the Tennessee Central Railway. It has good churches and schools, a bank, a weekly newspaper, and is the center of rapidly developing coal and timber industries. Scholastic population of county, 3,855; high schools, 1; elementary schools, 59.

From:
Moore, John Trotwood. Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769-1923. Vol. 1. Chicago, IL, USA: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923.

History of Cumberland County Tennessee

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