Cumberland Mountain State Park - History

History

In 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, the U.S. government established the Subsistence Homesteads Project to aide poverty-stricken families by relocating them to small farms. The government essentially provided low-interest loans that helped families acquire and clear land, build houses and outbuildings, and plant crops. Shortly after the project was established, several businessmen and political leaders from across Tennessee convened and drafted a proposal to have a homesteads project established in the Cumberland Plateau region, which had been particularly hard hit by the Depression when dozens of coal mines in the region were forced to close. The Division of Subsistence Homesteads accepted the proposal in January 1934, and established Cumberland Homesteads, Inc. to oversee the project. The new firm chose a 27,000-acre (110 km2) tract south of Crossville for the location of the project's farms and communal structures. 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.

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. 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.

The Mill House Lodge, located near the dam, was originally built to house a gristmill that would serve the Cumberland Homesteaders. A group of local Quakers were brought in to construct the mill, although opposition from local mills— who considered a federally-subsidized mill unfair competition— forced Cumberland Homesteads to nix the project. The mill house had been completed, but the waterwheel and grinding mechanisms were never installed.

The State of Tennessee acquired the park in 1938, and the park officially opened in 1940. Numerous new facilities were constructed at the park between 1948 and 1962, and a new visitor center and swimming pool were built in the 1980s. An 18-hole "Bear Trace" golf course— one of five Bear Traces designed for the State of Tennessee by golfer Jack Nicklaus— opened at Cumberland Mountain State Park in 1998. In 1988, many of the park's original buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Cumberland Homesteads Historic District.