Cumberland Mountain State Park – Crossville TN

City:
Crossville, TN

Site Type:
Parks and Recreation

New Deal Agencies:
Housing Programs, Work Relief Programs, Resettlement Administration (RA), Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Works Progress Administration (WPA), Civil Works Administration (CWA)

Description

Cumberland Mountain State Park is a state park in Cumberland County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of 1,720 acres (7.0 km2) situated around Byrd Lake, a man-made lake created by the impoundment of Byrd Creek in the 1930s. The park is set amidst an environmental microcosm of the Cumberland Plateau and provides numerous recreational activities, including an 18-hole Bear Trace golf course.

Cumberland Mountain State Park began as part of the greater Cumberland Homesteads Project, a New Deal-era initiative by the Resettlement Administration that helped relocate poverty-stricken families on the Cumberland Plateau to small farms centered around what is now the Cumberland Homestead community. The families of Homestead built the park with help from the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration…

The Civil Works Administration hired several hundred Crossvillians to clear and prepare the land for the homesteads, helping to ease the Depression in Cumberland County. In 1935, 250 families were selected for the project from over 1,500 applicants. Each family was given a plot of up to 50 acres (0.20 km2) upon which to establish a small farm.[1] Part of the Cumberland Homesteads Project called for the construction of a recreational area near the center of the homesteads. Two New Deal agencies, the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, arrived in the area in 1934 to build the recreational area’s facilities.[2] Company 3464 of the CCC, under the direction of the National Park Service, began the construction of Byrd Creek Dam in 1935 and completed it in 1938, effectively creating the 50-acre (0.20 km2) Byrd Lake. The dam, like many of the Homestead structures, is constructed of a native sandstone commonly called Crab Orchard Stone. At a height of 28 feet (8.5 m) and length of 319 feet (97 m), the dam is the largest masonry project ever completed by the CCC. CCC Company 3464, assisted by Company 1471, continued to work at the park until 1941, building trails, picnic areas, cabins, a boathouse, a bathhouse, and other structures.”

Source notes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Mountain_State_Park

Location Info


24 Office Drive
Crossville, TN 38555

Coordinates: 35.9014439, -84.99752

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One comment on “Cumberland Mountain State Park – Crossville TN

  1. Charles Tollett

    The millhouse at CMSP was constructed by young people from a Work Camp sponsored by American Friends Service Committee. The CCC, WPA, and locals were planning to build the mill-house when objections to government funding of a mill to compete with local businesses became strong; the Quakers (AFSC) agreed to build the structure with no government funds. Interestingly, no millstone was ever included and no milling was ever done. The beautiful structure has been a key feature of the Bank and has served as a guest house, meeting place, and for other functions

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One comment on “Cumberland Mountain State Park – Crossville TN

  1. Charles Tollett

    The millhouse at CMSP was constructed by young people from a Work Camp sponsored by American Friends Service Committee. The CCC, WPA, and locals were planning to build the mill-house when objections to government funding of a mill to compete with local businesses became strong; the Quakers (AFSC) agreed to build the structure with no government funds. Interestingly, no millstone was ever included and no milling was ever done. The beautiful structure has been a key feature of the Bank and has served as a guest house, meeting place, and for other functions

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

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