Cumberland County

In 1856 the Tennessee General Assembly created Cumberland County from the eight surrounding counties of Bledsoe, Roane, Morgan, Fentress, Rhea, Putnam, Overton, and White. Covering 679 square miles of the Cumberland Plateau, the new county rose from an elevation of eight hundred feet to a height of three thousand feet, with an average elevation of two thousand feet. Crossville (Scott’s Crossroads), near the center of the county, was chosen as the county seat despite the fact that several other communities, including Crab Orchard, Grassy Cove, Mayland, and Pleasant Hill, had larger populations.

The land that is now Cumberland County existed as an Indian hunting ground when Tennessee became a state in 1796. Bands of settlers making the perilous journey from Virginia, Maryland, and North and South Carolina to the Cumberland River settlements and beyond rested at the inns located along the toll roads that crossed the region. Kemmer’s Stand, Mammy, Burke, Genesis, Lowery’s Stand, and Grimes (Graham’s) Stand were familiar names to early travelers. Movement across the region became so common that Helen Krechniak, author of Cumberland County’s First Hundred Years, referred to the county as “The Road to Somewhere Else.” Many of the roads were mere trails, partially maintained between toll gates; other roads were better maintained and offered more substantial accommodations. Crab Orchard Inn, Kemmer’s Stand, and Johnson’s Stand (Mayland) serviced Walton Road. That road was established by the legislature to connect Southwest Point (Kingston) to Nashville. Today, Interstate 40 follows much of the original route across Cumberland County.