Crossville is a city, formerly known as Lambeth’s Crossroads, on the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee. While the larger cities of Knoxville to the east, Chattanooga to the south and Nashville to the west draw more visitors, the Crossville area has its share of attractions to lure visitors to explore this small community.
Cumberland Mountain State Park is located on the Cumberland Plateau just outside of Crossville. This 1,720-acre park was partially built by a community of farmers homesteading on land that was set aside by the Farm Security Administration in 1938.
The park offers a variety of recreational opportunities, including fishing for catfish and bass on Byrd Lake, paddle boating or canoeing, and hiking the many miles of trails. Cabins are available for rent, or visitors can choose to camp in tents or park an RV on one of nearly 150 sites. The park has picnic facilities and a restaurant.
Cumberland Mountain State Park
24 Office Dr.
Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 484-6138
state.tn.us/environment/parks/CumberlandMtn
The Cumberland County Playhouse is the only major nonprofit professional performing arts outlet in Tennessee that is not in a major city. The theater hosts year-round performances and receives more than 145,000 visitors each year. The playhouse was built in the 1960s as a way to create jobs and educate the youth in the rural area.
Today, the Cumberland County Playhouse has four stages, both indoor and outdoor, and it provides arts opportunities for people across a wide region. The playhouse has an annual budget of $1.8 million and operates without a deficit; it is considered one of the state’s most self-sufficient arts institutions.
Cumberland County Playhouse
221 Tennessee Avenue?
Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 484-5000
ccplayhouse.com
Sgt. Alvin C. York Historic Park is a Tennessee state park located just north of Crossville in the small community of Pall Mall. The park is the site of the childhood home of Sgt. York; he and David Crockett are perhaps the most famous war veterans from Tennessee.
York became famous in October 1918 when he single-handedly took on a German machine gun unit in France’s Argonne Forest, killing more than 20 German soldiers. Eventually, the entire German unit of 132 soldiers and 35 machine guns surrendered to York and six other soldiers.
In addition to the York homesite museum, there are picnic facilities and the opportunity to speak with York’s son, Andrew, who is a park ranger at the museum.
Sgt. Alvin C. York Historic Park
Highway 127
Pall Mall, TN 38577
(931) 879-6456
state.tn.us/environment/parks/SgtYork
