Historic Buildings and Places – Cookeville Tennessee

Returning to East Tennessee from our short visit with Laurie’s family in St. Louis, I’d chosen Cookeville Tennessee for our stop for an early dinner.  I’d also researched the National Register of Historic Places for local historic landmarks that we could check out…

The bad news is that I do remember when 6.5 oz. Cokes in a glass bottle were a nickel each.  The good news is that I’m still around and able to remember 5 cent Cokes!  Love this nostalgic sign in downtown Cookeville… FYI, there actually is a Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in Cookeville.

Note: In case you were wondering, it was in 1959 when the last nickel Cokes were sold although the transition to 10 cent cokes began prior to that. 

This locomotive and the rolling stock pictured are part of the exhibits belonging to the Cookeville Depot Museum.  The locomotive is a 1913 model 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler built by Baldwin Locomotive Works.  Originally, it was acquired by the Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad.  In 1950, it was sold to the Louisiana and Midland Railroad until it was knocked out of service after a collision with another locomotive.

The Friends of the Cookeville Depot Museum acquired #509 in 2002 and it was reconfigured and painted to match the large fleet of Baldwin 4-6-0’s that were operated by the Tennessee Central Railway Company.

 

The red cupola style caboose behind the locomotive was built ca. 1909 and it was actually used by the Tennessee Central Railroad… Early cabooses were both a work center for the crews of freight trains but also served as rolling homes.  Meals were cooked on a coal stove which also provided heat.  Tool lockers served as bunks for the crew.  These cabooses were all-wood but a steel skin was added later to extend their working lives…

This Louisville and Nashville caboose was acquired by the City of Cookeville from Seaboard Systems Railroad.  That company ran freight trains through the area until the early 1970s.  It’s relatively small since crews no longer lived on them during freight runs.  This Bay Window Type Caboose, with its kerosene stove, was retired from service in 1980.   This caboose houses the Museum’s tool exhibit “Working on the Railroad: The Right Tool for the Right Job”.   Note the green “Track Car” next to the caboose.  It was used to move track workers from one repair site to another along the rails. 

Despite the fact that the Tennessee Central Railroad ceased operations in 1968, the railroad was key to the development of Cookeville.  In 1909 this depot replaced the original Nashville and Knoxville Railroad’s depot that had been built in 1890.  It is 1 of only 3 brick depots built by Tennessee Central and its pagoda style roof was very unusual.  The last passenger train stopped here in 1955.  The railroad went out of business in 1968.

 

It was quite dilapidated when a group of citizens took an interest in preserving it.  At their urging, Cookeville purchased it from the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1975.  In time it was restored and it became a museum in 1985. 

The Cookeville Depot Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM until 4 PM.  See their Website at: http://www.cookevilledepot.com/.

The Cream City Ice Cream’s neon sign was erected back in 1950.  It was once the largest neon sign between Nashville and Knoxville Tennessee.  The Cream City Ice Cream and Coffee House is a popular local spot.  Learn more visiting this establishment by checking out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/creamcitycookeville/.

Cookeville was founded in 1854.  It’s the County Seat for Putnam County and it’s the home of Tennessee Technological University.  Cookeville is one of the USA’s micropolitan areas, a smaller city that functions as a significant economic hub.  With a population of well over 110,000, it is Tennessee’s largest micropolitan area.

This understated building was built in 1913.  While its first occupant has been lost in history, Richard Henry Harding moved his Harding Studio of Photography here in 1916 and the studio remained in operation until 1974.

FYI…Photography buffs will be interested to know that Harding studied under the close supervision of widely acclaimed photographer and teacher, W.S. Lively.  Harding also graduated from one of the 2 photography schools that existed in the USA in the early 1900s.  Harding is renowned for his photographic efforts in documenting and preserving images of life in the Upper Cumberland area in the early twentieth-century. 

To learn more about the collection of Harding’s photos and equipment, go to http://www.ajlambert.com/history/hst_hs.pdf.

The Italian Renaissance style United States Post Office and Federal Court House in Cookeville was designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department.  It’s located at 9 East Broad Street and it was completed in 1916.  Its presence reflects the growth, stature and political clout of Cookeville in the first decade of the twentieth century.  Gaining a significant federal building was and still is a major achievement for the any town.

The courthouse, now known as the L. Clure Morton United States Post Office and Court House, brought needed services to the community.  In addition to Postal Service operations, the building provides Federal Probation and Pre-Trial Services for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Note: Leland Clure Morton was a United States federal judge.  A lawyer and former FBI agent, in 1970 he was nominated by President Nixon to a seat on the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.  He served as a judge until he died in Knoxville Tennessee in 1998. 

First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) is a denomination that was formed in 1706 in America.  The building, finished in 1910, is in the Greek revival style with an educational wing and playground much added later.

The Cookeville Society of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in 1867.  Following a division within the church, they reunited in 1909 and became the First Presbyterian of the United Presbyterian Church in the USA.  Much of the interior of the church has remained unchanged although updates and expansions have occurred.  However, after a fire in 1988, the church’s red brick exterior was refinished to its present color of gray with white trim.

From my point of view, this is an early example of an indoor shopping center.  The Arcade Building was completed in 1913.  It consists of a 2-story center section flanked by 1-story wings.  A pedestrian hallway or passageway with a skylight bisects the center section.  At one point, stores and offices lined the passageway down the center while stores in the wings were entered from the street.  A stairwell in the center of the building joins the lower level with a similar hall upstairs.  The Arcade Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its innovative commercial design.  Currently, several businesses and the Legal Aid Society occupy space in the Arcade Building.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave