TENNESSEE'S CUMBERLAND COUNTRY

Image Gallery

Photographed by John Bryson

Here's the fourth in a series on the best sections of North America in which to pursue a rural lifestyle.

When Ohio-born Mike Moser moved—via Minnesota and Alabama—to Crossville, Tennessee, to become editor of the 101-year-old Crossville Chronicle, he was impressed by the friendliness of the people.

"I was told," Mike says, "that when folks say `good morning' to you, they really mean it-and it's true! About a year later, I was truly amazed at their generosity. You see, I met another `outsider'-a girl from Georgia, who worked for the city-and, since we had no family here, we planned a quiet wedding. However, some local women with whom I was barely acquainted decided to give us a big beautiful wedding at the state park, with the mayor officiating. That's the kind of people you'll find on the Cumberland Plateau."

The natives here refer to it as living "up on the mountain," and, indeed, the roads leading up the escarpments of the immense Cumberland Plateau do appear to be headed for the top of the world. Once there, the traveler is greeted by a green, undulating landscape rich with streams, waterfalls, wild gorges, and hillsides covered with hardwood forests that have long been a source of income for the region.

The Cumberland Plateau, the largest timbered plateau in America, is a segment of a great upland that extends from western New York to central Alabama. In Tennessee, it is made up of 14 beautiful counties which sit at an average of 2,000 feet above sea level, but our pick-gently rolling to hilly Cumberland County (pop. 33,200)-is the most prosperous. Crossville (pop. 7,000), the county seat and largest urban area, is centrally located in eastern Tennessee just off Interstate 40, about 75 miles from Knoxville and 120 miles from Nashville.

Rich Resources

So attractive is this 679-square-mile county that a number of large residential resort developments have invested heavily here, and it was chosen as the fourth best place in the United States to retire by Rand McNally's Places Rated Retirement Guide.

One of its attractions is climate, for it is blessed with long springs and autumns, cool summers, and mild winters. July temperatures range from a high of 82°F to a low of 64°. In January, highs average 39° and lows 21 °, and the county's annual 12 inches of snow usually guarantee a white Christmas. It has a 180-day growing season and an annual rainfall of 52 inches, which makes irrigation unnecessary—except during last summer's record drought. Even then there was plenty of water, for the county sparkles with more lakes and ponds than you can find anywhere else in Tennessee.

Cumberland is rich in other resources. Crab Orchard stone, a beautiful sandstone in colors of tan, brown, blue, pink, gray and variegated-is found only within a 50-mile radius of the little community of Crab Orchard (pop. 1,065) in the southeastern part of the county. Several companies quarry, cut, and ship this Tennessee quartzite all over the world for buildings, floors, patios, and swimming pools. Many county homes and public structures are made of this durable material, and even the oldest still retain a new look in Cumberland's unpolluted air.