Cookeville, Tennessee
[10] It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, smaller cities that function as significant regional economic hubs.[13] The area surrounding Cookeville and Putnam County was first reported to be settled by Virginia and North Carolina longhunters in the late 1700s to early 1800s, most of whom were of English and Scotch-Irish descent.[13] In the same year, land purchased by Charles Crook became the area where the new county seat was established since it has access to natural springs able to support a town.[15][16] The largely rugged landscape of the Cookeville area made it unsuitable for large-scale farming operations compared to most of the larger Middle Tennessee region.Several aggressions occurred during the war, including the burning of the Putnam County Courthouse in Cookeville's city square, the slaying of 20 and capture of 40 Confederate soldiers by Union Army Colonel Henry McConnell, and the Battle of Dug Hill.[17] Economic and cultural growth in Cookeville stagnated as a result of the political divide over secession, causing animosity among neighbors and families.[18] In 1909, the Tennessee Central Railroad constructed the Cookeville Depot in the city's West Side District, providing passenger rail service until 1955.The United States Army Corps of Engineers' large-scale Center Hill Dam project provided jobs for Cookeville residents, and after its completion, provided advanced electricity production for industrial development, flood control of the nearby Caney Fork River, and recreational sites with the design of Edgar Evins and Burgess Falls state parks.[23] By 1966, the Interstate 40 corridor was completed south of the city center, prompting annexation of several of the freeway's interchanges for commercial development.A group of local residents and preservationists worked to save the depot from demolition, and the Cookeville city government eventually purchased it.The group responsible for its preservation restored the depot and reopened it as a museum in 1985, the year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[13] The city's establishment as the economic hub of the Upper Cumberland region strengthened with the construction and completion of Tennessee State Route 111, also known as Appalachian Development Highway System Corridor J. Corridor J, which went through the engineering phase in 1978[24] and was completed in the late 1980s, provides expressway-grade access to Cookeville from communities in Overton and White counties.[18] Throughout the 1990s, the Cookeville Public Works and Engineering Department constructed several collector streets that aided commercial development along the northern side of the I-40 corridor in the city.[18] Cookeville embarked on one of its recorded largest expansions of its city limits when it annexed over 10 square miles of previously unincorporated Putnam County between 2000 and 2009.[18] In the early morning of March 3, 2020, an EF4 tornado touched down west of Cookeville, damaging several of the city's western outskirt neighborhoods.The tornado's estimated maximum wind speed of 175 mph along its nearly nine-mile path was recorded as the strongest storm of the outbreak.Located on the Highland Rim, Cookeville's elevation (1100 ft AMSL) is a few hundred feet higher than Nashville's or Knoxville's.As a result, temperatures and humidity levels are generally slightly lower in Cookeville than in either the Nashville Basin or the Tennessee Valley.Cane Creek Lake, created by an earthen dam built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, is in western Cookeville.The manufacturing company ATC Automation is also based in Cookeville, and in 2016 announced a $10.4 million investment plan intended to add 110 engineering jobs to the city.[39] In 2017, Science Applications International Corp. announced that it would establish its first center of excellence to deliver information technology services in downtown Cookeville.[51] In addition to its science and engineering programs, the university is also home to the Mastersingers and the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble, led by R. Winston Morris.Running east–west adjacent to I-40 in the southern section of the city is Interstate Drive, which is populated by several national restaurant chains, hotels, and other businesses.Airport shuttles and the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency (UCHRA) provide transportation to Nashville International.
Cookeville (disambiguation)CountryTennesseeCountyPutnamIncorporatedNamed forCouncil-managerCity ManagerCity CouncilTime zoneUTC−6UTC−5ZIP CodesArea codecounty seatPutnam County, TennesseeUnited States2020 United States censusmicropolitan areascollege townTennessee Technological UniversityCherokeePaleo-IndianCumberland PlateauTreaty of TellicoVirginiaNorth CarolinaEnglishScotch-IrishAvery's TraceOvertonJacksonDeKalbnatural springsMiddle Tennesseeslave laborersAmerican Civil WarConfederacyNashville and Knoxville RailroadCookeville Depotinstitute of technologyscience, technology, engineering, and mathematicstextile manufacturingcoal miningGreat DepressionU.S. Route 70United States Army Corps of EngineersCenter Hill DamCaney Fork RiverEdgar EvinsBurgess FallsJim Crow eragrocery storerestaurantsouthern cuisineAfrican AmericanNational Register of Historic PlacesInterstate 40Tennessee State Route 111Appalachian Development Highway Systemexpressway-gradecollector streetscity limitsindustrial park2020 Cookeville tornadothe outbreakUnited States Census BureauHighland RimSR 136US 70NNashvilleKnoxvilleCorps of EngineersCenter Hill LakeCordell Hull LakeDale Hollow LakeFalling Water RiverCivilian Conservation CorpsKöppen climate classificationprecipitationBlack or African AmericanNative AmericanPacific IslanderOther/MixedHispanicLatinocensusother racesmarried couplesper capita incomepoverty linelabor market areaCumberlandcredit unionsunemploymentcost of livingTennessee TechPutnam CountyAveritt ExpressCummins, Inc.State of TennesseeSunTrust BanksLong BeachMississippiHurricane KatrinaScottsdale, Arizonachainsretail parkmicrobreweriesCrossfitCrossfit GamesRich FroningCrossFit MayhemWindow Cliffs State Natural AreaBurgess Falls State ParkCummins Falls State ParkGerald D. Coorts Memorial ArboretumCookeville Depot MuseumArda E. Lee's Hidden HollowWhite PlainsList of mayors of Cookeville, TennesseeU.S. News & World ReportCarnegie classification systemR. Winston MorrisVolunteer State Community College