Cumberland Homesteads

Located just east of Crossville, Tennessee the Cumberland Homesteads is a collection of 251 houses, on 27,802 acres of land that make up one of the four New Deal low income housing districts in the United States. The homestead program was designed in 1934 by the Federal government to be a way for low income people to get "back-to-the-land." In Cumberland County, applications were received from Cumberland, Fentress, Putnam, and Morgan counties. Each of the nearly 2,500 applicants were screened in depth based on age, ability, and desire to work. The average homesteader that was chosen was thirty-four years old, married, with three children. Each homesteader was given anywhere from four to thirty-five acres of land. Each homesteader was responsible for the construction of their own house and outbuildings, some were even paid to construct their house. The houses were all designed by William Macy Stanton. Each house would have roughly the same floor plan, and architectural design. The homesteader would eventually be give the opportunity to purchase the home by agreeing to give up two thirds of his wages to go toward the purchase price. Each house was constructed of Crab Orchard sandstone, in the Craftsman architectural style. Other notable buildings in the Cumberland Homesteads community include the Homestead Tower (pictured above), with a cross shaped building at its base. The octagonal shaped tower was used historically to house water for the settlement. The building at its base was used historically for administrative offices. The original Homestead Elementary School is located near the water tower and administration building and like the other structures in the district, is constructed of native Crab Orchard Sandstone. The community also had a general store and mill. By the mid 1940s and early 1950s, the Cumberland Homesteads community began to decline. The Federal Government's hope was to attract large mining, and milling industries, but were unable to do so due to the area's remote location. The Federal Government were forced to pull their support of the community and all the homesteaders were given the opportunity to purchase their property, which most of them did if they hadn't done so already. Today most of the houses remain privately owned, with one having been opened to the public as a museum by the Homestead Tower Association. This association also operates a museum in the tower and the school. Land around the Homesteads has been converted into Cumberland Mountain State Park. In 1988, the Cumberland Homesteads was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a district. The district was listed under Criterion A for its overall history in community planing and development, agriculture, and social history and C for its significance in architecture.

An average Cumberland Homestead house.

At Moore Historical Consulting my #1 priority is historic preservation. Do you own a historic home, commercial building, or farm? If so contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer. These include nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, nominations for a Permanent Conservation Easement, nominations to the Century Farms program, and writing text for historic makers. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring and preserving your past fun and easy.

Cordell Hull Birthplace

The Cordell Hull Birthplace is a small modest single pen log cabin, with a separate outdoor kitchen at its rear, both constructed of yellow poplar logs. No exact date of construction for the cabin is known, but historians suggest that it was built sometime before Cordell Hull's birth in 1871. The cabin is located in the rural area of Pickett County in northern Middle Tennessee, near the Tennessee-Kentucky state line. Hull served as United States Secretary of State from 1933-1944 and still holds the record for the longest term in that office in United States history. In 1945, Hull won the Nobel Peace Prize for his establishment of the United Nations. Hull's story was very much one of "rags to riches." By the turn of the century, Hull's parents moved to a much larger Victorian/Gable Front and Wing style home in Carthage, Tennessee. The family's home in Pickett County was left to fall into a state of disrepair. In 1952 a group of concerned citizens successfully petitioned the State of Tennessee to purchase and restore the cabin. The structure  actually had to be razed and rebuilt on its original foundation in order to properly stabilize the original logs. During the 1970s and 1980s, operation of the historic cabin bounced between Standing Stone and Pickett State Parks. Finally in 1986, Tennessee Tech University intervened and listed the cabin in their most endangered places list. This report led to the rebuilding of the cabin once again in 1996. This rebuild was again carried out using the original logs and foundation, but this time being more sensitive to establishing historical accuracy. By 1997 the Tennessee State Legislature approved funding for a fully staffed park, leading to the creation of the Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park. Even though the cabin has been rebuilt on two separate occasions, its 1972 listing in the National Register of Historic Places has been unaffected. The Cordell Hull Birthplace is listed in the National Register under Criterion A and C for its historical and architectural significance.

At Moore Historical Consulting my #1 priority is historic preservation. Do you own a historic home, commercial building, or farm? If so contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer. These include nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, nominations for a Permanent Conservation Easement, nominations to the Century Farms program, and writing text for historic makers. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring and preserving your past fun and easy.

Cowan Depot

Cowan, Tennessee's Cowan Depot was constructed in 1904 by the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad. The building is a simple wood frame, weatherboarded building with a gabled roof. According to the building's National Register of Historic Places nomination form, the gabled roof once featured ornate bracketing, but was removed in the 1940s or 1950s. The building is painted green and gold to reflect the company colors of the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad. Perhaps the most unique feature of the building is its two story wing on its southern elevation. This wing was designed to allow the yardmaster to oversee the switching operations and placement of the rolling stock from the comfort of his own office. The Cowan Depot was designed to serve passengers on the main line, and serve as a terminus on the spur line from Tracy City to Monteagle. Cowan also served as the headquarters for the "pusher" or "helper" engines. These engines were tasked with assisting trains on the mainline get over Monteagle Mountain on their descent to Chattanooga. As railway service began to decline with the construction of U.S. Route 41A in the 1940s and Interstate 24 in the 1970s, the Cowan Depot was closed. Not long after its closure, the Cowan Beautification group were able to purchase the building from the Louisville and Nashville Railroad for one dollar. The L&N's only stipulation was that the building had to be moved to the other side of the railroad tracks and moved back one hundred feet from said tracks. Once this was carried out, the Cowan Beautification group restored the building and reopened it to the public as a museum. In 1977 the Cowan Depot was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A and C for its historical and architectural significance.

At Moore Historical Consulting my #1 priority is historic preservation. Do you own a historic home, commercial building, or farm? If so contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer. These include nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, nominations for a Permanent Conservation Easement, nominations to the Century Farms program, and writing text for historic makers. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring and preserving your past fun and easy.

Cumberland Mountain Tunnel

Cowan, Tennessee's Cumberland Mountain Tunnel was constructed from 1849 to 1852. The construction crew was made up of English and Irish immigrant laborers, African-American Slaves, and local residents. The tunnel is part of a 150 mile route from Nashville to Chattanooga. Once completed, the result was a 2,228 foot long tunnel through the Cumberland Mountain. The Cumberland Mountain Tunnel has the distinction as Middle Tennessee's oldest and longest tunnel. It is interesting to note that the tunnel was completed in only three years, without the use of any heavy machinery, in an extremely difficult area to work. By 1853, tracks were laid and the tunnel was placed into service. During the Civil War, the tunnel became a major landmark, that both sides wanted control of. In 1863, Confederate troops led by General Joe Wheeler, attacked a Union garrison that had been protecting the tunnel. Wheeler's Confederates were able to rout the Union stronghold. Later that same year, a Union supply train was blown up just outside the entrance of the tunnel. There are no accounts of damage to the tunnel during the Civil War. In 1915 a freight train and a railroad crew train collided head on at the Cumberland Mountain Tunnel killing eleven people. In 1918, one crewman was killed and several others injured when the boiler of a locomotive exploded just outside the tunnel. In 1977 the Cumberland Mountain Tunnel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for its historical significance. Today the tunnel remains in service as part of a freight line owned by CSX Transportation.

At Moore Historical Consulting my #1 priority is historic preservation. Do you own a historic home, commercial building, or farm? If so contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer. These include nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, nominations for a Permanent Conservation Easement, nominations to the Century Farms program, and writing text for historic makers. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring and preserving your past fun and easy.

Grassmere

Nashville's Grassmere Mansion was constructed around 1815 as a five bay Federal style structure. The home also has elements of the Italianate style in the ornamental trim on the portico and the curved windows on the facade. Those features were added in the late 19th century. The home features an "I" shaped floor plan. The home features a gabled roof with chimneys on each of the side elevations, and sits on a stone foundation. The home sits on land that was part of a 640 acre land grant that was issued from North Carolina. In 1810, Michael C. Dunn purchased 272 acres of that grant and built a log cabin for himself and his family. Soon after he had a larger home constructed that he dubbed Grassmere. This home would remain in the ownership of Dunn's descendants until 1964. In 1964, the home and 200 acres were deeded to the Cumberland Museum to be developed and operated as a nature study center. When the final Dunn descendant passed away in 1985, the plans for this nature center were put in motion. The land opened to the public that same year as Grassmere Wildlife Park. In 1994 the park closed and the City of Nashville purchased the home and land. The Metro Council decided that there were two options for the property. They would either relocate the Nashville Zoo from Joelton, or simply make Grassmere a city park. The former option was chosen and in 1998 the Nashville Zoo officially relocated from Joelton to Grassmere and has remained there ever since. The Grassmere Mansion remains a vital part of the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. Archaeological resources such as the Dunn Family cemetery remain intact on the property, even after the bodies were relocated  closer to the family home in 2013. In 1984 the Grassmere Mansion was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion B and C for its association with prominent Nashville citizens and also for its significance in architecture. The Grassmere Mansion is a great example of adaptive reuse of a historic property.

At Moore Historical Consulting my #1 priority is historic preservation. Do you own a historic home, commercial building, or farm? If so contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer. These include nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, nominations for a Permanent Conservation Easement, nominations to the Century Farms program, and writing text for historic makers. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring and preserving your past fun and easy.