Skip to main content

Exploring Cookeville, Tennessee

This past July, my family and I did a weekend trip to Nashville.  We ended staying in Cookeville for the weekend.  Cookeville sits off of Interstate 40 about one hour east of Nashville.  It is the home of Tennessee Tech University and has a charming downtown.

When you visit Downtown Cookeville, you can't help but notice the large neon sign for Cream City Ice Cream.  Since 1950, Cream City has been the ice cream spot for residents and visitors to Cookeville.  Typically serving 30 flavors of ice cream, Cream City is one of the many examples of small town charm found with the town.

The pagoda-style Cookeville Depot is a town gathering spot.
Across West Broad Street from Cream City is the historic Cookeville Depot.  The depot was built by the Tennessee Central Railway in 1909.  Today, the Cookeville Depot is home to the Cookeville Depot Museum and a number of historic trains.  The depot also serves as a central gathering space for the town as the trains are a great place for kids to explore while adults can sit outside the depot possibly enjoying their ice cream.

The Cookeville Rail Depot is also the western terminus for the Tennessee Central Heritage Rail Trail.  Currently, the Tennessee Central Trail runs about five miles east to the town of Algood.  It is envisioned that the trail will run a total of 19 miles to the town of Monterey.  The trail follows the historic routing of the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad.  That railroad, which was founded in 1884, was eventually absorbed into the Tennessee Central.

Along both West and East Broad Street in Cookeville, one can find numerous restaurants, candy and gift shops, boutiques, and more.  For dinner, we ate at Crawdaddy's West Side Grill, an excellent Cajun/New Orleans restaurant along East Broad Street.

Cookeville is a great central location if you want to explore the Cumberland Plateau and Central Tennessee.  An hour outside of Nashville, it is very close to some of Tennessee's more popular state parks.  Fall Creek Falls is about one hour south along TN 111.  Standing Stone State Park is about a 30 minute drive north on Highway 136.

Further Reading:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

When did people begin to refer to the "Ridge Route" as "The Grapevine?" (former US Route 99 and Interstate 5)

The segment of US Route 99 from Los Angeles north to Bakersfield was traditionally known in State Highway documents as the "Ridge Route."  Even as the Ridge Route was transitioning from curvy mountain grade to the facility now occupied by Interstate 5nthe name largely persisted in California Highways & Public Works documents.  During modern times the name "Ridge Route" has be usurped in popular lexicon in favor to the nickname known as "The Grapevine."  This blog will attempt to decipher the origins of "The Grapevine" and how it came into popular use today.  Featured as the blog cover photo is a view of Interstate 5 in Grapevine Canyon and former US Route 99 at Deadman's Curve of the Ridge Route. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Note:

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109.  Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek.  Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes.  From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims.  From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River.  What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby.  By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt.  A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w