We drove through Knoxville on our way to the Cumberland Mountains, but didn’t stop. Looks like some cool things to see there, but we were ready for a hiking day in a park again. Tony snapped the following pictures from Usain’s copilot seat.

Cumberland Mountain State Park

Cumberland Mountain State Park is on the Cumberland Plateau that extends down into TN – we hiked in the Cumberland Gap area on our Kentucky trip. This park’s campground will be our home for the night.

Alvin C. York and the CCC

This park is here because of the CCC. Family farms in this area were failing during the depression so the government stepped in to relocate families to a Cumberland Homestead community. Community members helped build this park alongside the CCC, and the community was a model of cooperative living until federal government funding was withdrawn in the 1940s. We noticed several houses built with local “crab orchard” sandstone that gives a unique look.

This park has a CCC museum where we learned about Alvin C. York, a WWI hero who went on to do great things in Tennessee. He was in charge of the CCC crew here and served as park administrator.

Iconic Park Bridge

The Cumberland Mountain State Park Bridge built by the CCC is the centerpiece of the park. The overall architecture and apparent workmanship is truly amazing for something 90+ years old.