Cookeville, Tennessee

Cookeville is the county seat of and the largest city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, smaller cities that function as significant regional economic hubs. Of Tennessee's 20 micropolitan areas, Cookeville is the largest.

At the 2020 census, the Cookeville micropolitan area's population was 141,333. The U.S. Census Bureau ranked the Cookeville micropolitan area as the 4th largest-gaining micropolitan area in the country between 2022 and 2023, with a one-year gain of 2,748 and a 2023 population of 148,226. The city is a college town, home to Tennessee Technological University.

History of Cookeville

Before European settlement, the Cookeville area was dominated by the Cherokee tribe since the Paleo-Indian era. The Cherokee used the region as hunting grounds. Cherokee claims to the land in the Cumberland Plateau ended after the Treaty of Tellico was signed in October 1805. 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. Settlers arrived by Avery's Trace, which was known as the Walton Road in the area of present-day Cookeville. Putnam County was established in 1842, formed from parts of White, Overton, Jackson, Smith, and DeKalb Counties after the population increased sufficiently, straining those counties' abilities to support services to the isolated residents. Entering the 19th century, the area was dominated economically by the rise of agriculture, logging, and timber production. Putnam County reestablished itself in 1854, with the establishment of a county seat required by new Tennessee state law. 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. The city was named Cookeville for Richard Fielding Cooke, a pioneer who settled in the area in 1810. Cooke was twice elected to the state senate, and was influential in establishing Putnam County in 1854.

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. Still, several farming institutions operated in the region, some using African slave laborers. After Tennessee seceded from the United States in 1861, residents of the Cookeville area were divided about the American Civil War. Most opposed secession. Cookeville residents enrolled to assist in both the armies of the Confederacy and the Union. 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.

Economic and cultural growth in Cookeville stagnated as a result of the political divide over secession, causing animosity among neighbors and families. The tides turned by the late 1800s, after the city's first hotel, the Isbell, was completed in 1886, and the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad in 1890.

The investment made by railroad companies placed Cookeville on a path of considerable economic and industrial development with the Nashville and Knoxville railroad, which became the Tennessee Central Railroad. With this growth, Cookeville officially incorporated into a chartered city in 1903. Two years later, the city established the Cookeville Light and Water Department, when electricity was first distributed in the city. In 1909, the Tennessee Central Railroad constructed the Cookeville Depot in the city's West Side District, providing passenger rail service until 1955.

In 1909, local religious leaders with the aid of the Tennessee state government established Dixie College, a private school deeded to the community. The state government seized the institution in 1915 following decline in enrollment and financial support. The government reestablished it as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, a public institute of technology focused on education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The university made Cookeville a regional education hub and college town, increasing its population and post-secondary education enrollment. In 1965, it was renamed Tennessee Technological University.

With the advancement rail access, Cookeville began to industrialize with the rise of textile manufacturing, coal mining, and the rapid expansion of the timber production industry. The railroad's dominance declined by the beginning of the Great Depression. By 1930, the completion of U.S. Route 70N, the northern branch of U.S. Route 70, Cookeville's first modern highway, prompted further expansion of Cookeville's industrial and commercial markets. 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.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 22.0 square miles (57 km2), of which 21.9 square miles (57 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) (0.77%) is water.

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.

Cookeville is in Tennessee's Upper Cumberland region near the crossroads of I-40, SR 136, and US 70N-SR 24. It is 79 miles east of Nashville and 101 miles west of Knoxville.

Three man-made lakes maintained by the Corps of Engineers are near Cookeville. They were built to help flood control in Center Hill Lake, Cordell Hull Lake, and Dale Hollow Lake in the Cumberland Plateau's narrow valleys. Two smaller man-made lakes, City Lake and Burgess Falls Lake, lie along the Falling Water River, which flows through southeastern Putnam County. Cane Creek Lake, created by an earthen dam built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, is in western Cookeville.

Cookeville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) or oceanic climate (Trewartha climate classification: Doa) depending on the classification system used, with relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation through the year. Summers are typically hot and humid and winters are mild and cool. The highest temperature recorded in Cookeville since 1896 is 105 °F (41 °C) on June 29, 2012, and the lowest temperature recorded is −22 °F (−30 °C) on January 21, 1985. Average annual precipitation is 60.02 in (1,525 mm), with the highest recorded precipitation at 6.06 in (154 mm) on September 29, 1964. Average annual snowfall is 6.1 in (150 mm) with the highest recorded snowfall at 15.2 in (39 cm) on November 3, 1966.

Economy

Cookeville is the Upper Cumberland region's largest city and as such is known as the "Hub of the Upper Cumberlands". It is at the center of the labor market area consisting of Putnam, Cumberland, DeKalb, Jackson, Overton, Smith, and White Counties, with a civilian labor force in 2013 of 103,500 jobs (roughly one-third of which are in Putnam County). As of June 30, 2020, 16 commercial banks and four credit unions operated in the city, with combined deposits over $2.5 billion. Total retail sales in Cookeville for 2016 were $1.6 billion. Putnam County's unemployment rate was 3.0% as of May 2017, down from 3.7% in April. Cookeville's cost of living is low, and the city ranked 8th in the U.S. on the Center for Regional Economic Competitivess Cost of Living Index in 2016.

According to the city's 2030 Comprehensive Annual Plan published in 2010, Cookeville's top employers in 2009 were:

Manufacturing is the largest sector of Cookeville's economy, with over 100 plants and 8,000 employees. With 13% of the workforce, retail trade employs about 4,200 people and is the second-largest sector. Health care workers are about 12% of the work force, at 3,840. Education is another major sector, with nearly 2,000 employees at Tennessee Tech and the public school system.

Education

Cookeville is predominantly a college town, home to Tennessee Tech since 1915. Tennessee Tech is a public university with programs concentrating in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies, and is ranked 35th by U.S. News & World Report on its list of the Top Regional Universities in the South, as well as the most underrated university in Tennessee. The university is rated under "Doctoral Universities - High Research Activity (R2)" by the Carnegie classification system among schools with at least 20 doctoral graduates per year. 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.

Cookeville is also home to a satellite campus of Volunteer State Community College as well as the Tennessee Bible College, a Christian college affiliated with the Churches of Christ.

Cookeville's public schools are run by Putnam County Schools, which consists of 18 elementary, middle, and high schools. Schools in Cookeville include Cookeville High School, Jere Whitson Elementary, Prescott Middle School, Northeast Elementary, Capshaw Elementary, Dry Valley School, Parkview Elementary, Sycamore Elementary, Cane Creek Elementary, Avery Trace Middle, and the Adult High School. Cookeville High School is one of Tennessee's six largest public high schools. Cookeville High School and Avery Trace Middle School are among Tennessee's 20 schools to offer the International Baccalaureate program.