The Cumberland Homesteads National Historic District is one of the New Deal communities constructed during the Great Depression. Over 2000 families applied for one of the 252 planned homesteads. The winners then had to clear the land and construct the houses. They were paid fifty cents an hour - one third in cash and the rest toward the purchase of their homes.
The homes were constructed with indoor plumbing and wired for electricity, even though they were not connected to the grid until four years later. A hand pump in the kitchen was used to pump water into a reservoir in the attic. The homes are scattered all over the area. Most are easily recognizable, even if modifications have been made. One has been completely restored to its original state with period furnishings and serves as the Homesteads House Museum.
The Homesteads Tower was built in 1937-1938 to be used as the administrative offices of the Cumberland Homesteads. It is a museum today. Visitors can climb the 92 steps to the top of the tower and look down upon the nearby school and other community buildings, still in use.
Cumberland Mountain State Park is located on the Cumberland Plateau just south of Crossville, TN. The land was acquired by the Farm Security Administration in 1938 to provide a recreational area for the Cumberland Homesteaders. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) participated in the construction of the park. Alvin C. York, the most decorated US military hero of World War I, played by Gary Cooper in the movie "Sergeant York", was in charge of the CCC unit. The dam and bridge comprise the largest masonry structure ever built by the CCC. The park was opened to the public in 1940.
We hiked along the Byrd Creek trail and discovered this "suspended tree".Crab Orchard stone was used in most of the construction of the homesteads and the park. If you are a Home and Garden channel follower, you probably have heard of it.
