Cookeville is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

and largest city of Putnam County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, United States. As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, or smaller cities which function as significant regional economic hubs. Of the twenty micropolitan areas in Tennessee, Cookeville is the largest. The Cookeville micropolitan area's 2010 Census population was 106,042. The U.S. Census Bureau ranked the Cookeville micropolitan area as the 7th largest-gaining micropolitan area in the country between 2018 and 2019, with a one-year gain of 1,796 and a 2019 population of 114,272. The city is a

college town A college town or university town is a community (often a separate town or city, but in some cases a town/city neighborhood or a district) that is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several sma ...

, home to

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

History

Early years and establishment

Previous to its settlement era, the area of Cookeville was dominated by the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Native American tribe through the Paleo-Indian to the early

European colonization The historical phenomenon of colonization is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Turks, and the Arabs. Colonialism in the modern sense began ...

periods of history. The Cherokee would use the region as communal

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

grounds. Claims to the land by the Cherokee in the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms "Alle ...

would cease following the signing of the third rendition of the

Treaty of Tellico The Treaty With The Cherokee, 1798, also known as the First Treaty of Tellico, was signed on October 2, 1798, in the Overhill Cherokee settlement of Great Tellico near Tellico Blockhouse in Tennessee. This treaty served as an addendum to the T ...

in October 1805. The area surrounding Cookeville and Putnam County was first reported to be settled by

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

longhunters around the late 1700s to early 1800s, most of whom were of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Scotch-Irish descent. Settlers arrived by

Avery's Trace Avery's Trace was the principal road used by settlers travelling from the Knoxville area in East Tennessee to the Nashville area from 1788 to the mid-1830s. In an effort to encourage settlers to move west into the new territory of Tennessee, in ...

, which was known as the Walton Road in the area of what is present-day Cookeville. Putnam County was not established until 1842, when it was formed from portions of

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, Overton,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

, and

DeKalb DeKalb or De Kalb may refer to: People * Baron Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War Places Municipalities in the United States * DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in the United States named DeKalb **DeKal ...

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 with the rise of agriculture, logging, and timber production. Putnam County re-established 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 would become the area where the new county seat would be established since it has access to a

natural springs A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh w ...

able to support a town. The city was named Cookeville for Richard Fielding Cooke, an early pioneer who came to Tennessee in 1810 and settled in the area. Cooke was twice elected to the state senate, and was influential in establishing Putnam County in 1854.

Antebellum and Civil War era

The largely rugged landscape of the Cookeville area made it unsuitable for large-scale farming operations compared to most of the larger

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...

region. Despite this, several farming institutions operated in the region, some using African slave laborers. Following Tennessee's secession from the United States in 1861, residents of the Cookeville area were conflicted on siding in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Most residents opposed secession and supported to remain with the Union. Cookeville residents enrolled to assist in both the armies of the Confederacy and the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. Several aggressions occurred during the Civil War, including the burning of the Putnam County Courthouse in Cookeville's

city square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

, 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 political divide amongst residents's viewpoints on the Civil War, causing animosities amongst neighbors and families. The tides would turn by the late 1800s, following the completion of the city's first hotel, the Isbell in 1886, and the

Nashville and Knoxville Railroad The Tennessee Central Railway was founded in 1884 as the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad by Alexander S. Crawford. It was an attempt to open up a rail route from the coal and minerals of East Tennessee to the markets of the Middle Tennessee, mid ...

four years later.

20th century

The investment made by railroad companies would place Cookeville on a path of massive economic and industrial development with the Nashville and Knoxville railroad, which became the Tennessee Central Railroad. With this new growth, Cookeville would officially

incorporate Incorporation may refer to: * Incorporation (business), the creation of a corporation * Incorporation of a place, creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county * Incorporation (academic), awarding a degree based on the student having ...

into a chartered city in 1903. Two years later, the city would establish the Cookeville Light and Water Department, when electricity was first distributed in the city. In 1909, the Tennessee Central Railroad would construct 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 would establish the University of Dixie, a private university deeded to the community. However, the institution would be seized by the state government in 1915 following decline in enrollment and financial support. The state government would re-establish it into Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, a public

institute of technology An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

focused on education in

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

. The university would establish Cookeville as a regional education hub and a college town, increasing its population and post-secondary education enrollment. In 1965, it would be renamed

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

. With the advancement rail access, Cookeville began to industrialize with the rise of

textile manufacturing Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

, and the rapid expansion of the established timber production industry. The dominance of the railroad declined by the beginnings of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. By 1930,

U.S. Route 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern United States, Southeastern, Southern Unite ...

, the first modern highway in Cookeville, would be completed by the Tennessee Department of Highways, prompting further expansion of Cookeville's industrial and commercial markets. The large-scale Center Hill Dam project by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

would provide employment opportunities to Cookeville residents, and after its completion, provided advanced electricity production for industrial development, flood control of the nearby

Caney Fork River The Caney Fork River is a river that flows through central Tennessee in the United States, draining a substantial portion of the southwestern Cumberland Plateau and southeastern Highland Rim regions. It is a major tributary of the Cumberland Rive ...

, and recreational sites with the design of Edgar Evins and Burgess Falls state parks. Other infrastructure additions to the city would be beneficial to the city's growth, including a water treatment plant in 1946, the Cookeville General Hospital in 1950, and a wastewater treatment plant in 1952. Johns-place-cookeville-tn

During the

Jim Crow era The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

of the 1950s, John's Place was one business where white and black locals often socialized despite their differences. John's Place was originally opened as Ed's Place in 1949, and later known as McClellan's Cafe, and finally as John's Place starting since 1957, the establishment at 11 Gibson Ave. off of West Spring Street was a

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

. John's Place is known for its

southern cuisine The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several regions, including Tidewater, Appalachian, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, and Floribbean cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread t ...

– fried chicken, catfish, meatloaf, and corn bread, as well as beer. Throughout the

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

of the 1960s, the only place you could interact interracially was at John's Place, and many locals encountered their first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

at the restaurant. John's Place was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2011. By 1966, the

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

corridor was completed south of the city center, prompting annexation of several of the freeway's interchanges for commercial development. After its end of passenger rail use in 1955, the Cookeville Depot fell into disrepair. A group of local residents and preservationists would work for the saving of the depot from demolition. After the lengthy demanding from residents, the Cookeville city government would purchase the Cookeville Depot. The citizens group responsible for its preservation restored the facility and reopened it into a museum in 1985, the year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By the 1970 census, the population of Cookeville would increase by more than 80% compared to the 1960 census, showcasing its rise from a predominately rural town into a larger hub city with increased enrollment at Tennessee Technological University and Interstate 40 positioning the city for increased employment opportunities. The city's establishment as the economic hub of the Upper Cumberland region strengthened with the construction and completion of

Tennessee State Route 111 State Route 111 (SR 111) is a north–south highway in Middle and East Tennessee. The road begins in Soddy-Daisy and ends north of Byrdstown in the community of Static, at the Tennessee/Kentucky state line. The length is . Route descripti ...

, also known as

Appalachian Development Highway System The Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) is a series of highway corridors in the Appalachia region of the eastern United States. The routes are designed as local and regional routes for improving economic development in the historical ...

Corridor J. Corridor J, which went through the engineering phase in 1978, and completed in the late 1980s, provides expressway-grade access to Cookeville for neighboring communities in Overton and

counties. Throughout the 1990s, the Cookeville Public Works and Engineering Department constructed several collector streets that aided with commercial development along the northern side of the I-40 corridor in the city.

Modern day

President Trump in Tennessee (49646131911)

With the dawn of the 21st century, Cookeville embarked on one of its recorded largest expansions of its

city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...

, when it would annex over 10 square miles of previously unincorporated Putnam County between 2000 and 2009. In 2007, city officials approved the purchase of over 400 acres for a regional

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

known as the Highlands Business Park. Cookeville General Hospital, then recently renamed the Cookeville Regional Medical Center, completed a major renovation and expansion project as a result of the city and surrounding region's extensive population growth one year later. During the March 2020 tornado outbreak, an EF-4 tornado touched down west of Cookeville damaging several of the city's western outskirt neighborhoods, killing 19 people, injuring 87, and causing more than $100 million in damages. As a result of the tornado, Tennessee Tech closed for two days, encouraging students volunteers to assist first responders in rescue and clean-up. The tornado's estimated maximum wind speed of 175 mph along its nearly nine-mile path was recorded as the strongest storm of the outbreak.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.77%) is water. Located on the

Highland Rim The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee surrounding the Central Basin. Nashville is largely surrounded by higher terrain in all directions. Geologically, the Central Basin is a dome. The Highland Rim is a cuesta surround ...

, Cookeville's elevation (1100 ft AMSL) is a few hundred feet higher than either Nashville or Knoxville. As a result, temperatures and humidity levels are generally slightly lower in Cookeville than in either the Nashville Basin or in the Tennessee Valley. Cookeville is situated in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee near the crossroads of

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

, SR 136, and US 70N-

SR 24 Route 24, or Highway 24, can refer to: International * European route E24 Australia * Lyell Highway (Tasmania) * Central Arnhem Road, NT Austria * Verbindungsspange Rothneusiedel Canada * Alberta Highway 24 * British Columbia Highway 24 * ...

. The city is located 79 miles east of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

and 101 miles west of

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

. Three man-made lakes maintained by the Corps of Engineers are located near Cookeville, created to help flood control in the narrow valleys of the Cumberland Plateau:

Center Hill Lake Center Hill Lake is a reservoir in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee near Smithville. Created by means of a dam constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1948, the lake has a dual purpose: electricity produc ...

Cordell Hull Lake Cordell Hull Lake is a lake in the Cumberland River in north-central Tennessee, about forty miles east of Nashville, in the vicinity of Carthage. It covers approximately . Cordell Hull Dam, on the Cumberland River, was built by the United States ...

, and

Dale Hollow Lake The Dale Hollow Reservoir is a reservoir situated on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The lake is formed by the damming of the Obey River, 7.3 miles (12 km) above its juncture with the Cumberland River at river mile 380. Portions of the lake a ...

. Two smaller man-made lakes, City Lake and Burgess Falls Lake, lie along the

Falling Water River The Falling Water River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 stream in the east-central portion of Middle Tennessee in the United States. It rises just west ...

, which flows through the southeastern part of the county. Cane Creek Lake, created by an earthen dam built by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, lies in the western part of the city.

Climate

Cookeville has a humid subtropical climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''Cfa'') 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 on June 29, 2012, and the lowest temperature recorded is on January 21, 1985. Average annual precipitation is , with the highest recorded precipitation at on September 29, 1964. Average annual snowfall is with the highest recorded snowfall at on November 3, 1966.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

, there were 34,842 people, 13,743 households, and 7,341 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 30,435 people, 12,471 households, and 6,669 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 1,094.5 people per square mile (422.5/km²). There were 13,706 housing units at an average density of 491.6 per square mile (189.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.9%

, 3.4%

, 0.6% Native American, 2.0%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.21%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 4.0% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 7.0% of the population. There were 12,471 households, out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 12% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.5% were non-families. Of all households 33.9% were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.83. In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.6% under the age of 18, 25.2% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,789, and the median income for a family was $39,623. Males had a median income of $28,013 versus $21,710 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $19,297. About 13.1% of families and 23.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Cookeville is the largest city in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee, and as such, is known as the "Hub of the Upper Cumberlands." Cookeville is located at the center of the

labor market area A labor market area is a geographic area or region defined for purposes of compiling, reporting, and evaluating employment, unemployment, workforce availability, and related topics. It can be defined as an economically integrated region within whi ...

consisting of Putnam,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Overton,

and

counties, with a civilian labor force in 2013 of 103,500 jobs (roughly one-third of which are in Putnam County itself). , there were 16 commercial

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s and four

credit unions A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provision ...

operating in the city, with combined deposits totaling over $2.5 billion. Total retail sales in Cookeville for 2016 were $1.6 billion. The

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

rate in Putnam County was 3.0%, down from April 2017's rate of 3.7%. The

cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a c ...

in Cookeville is low, and the city ranked 8th in the United States on the Center for Regional Economic Competitivess Cost of Living Index in 2016.

Top employers

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

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the largest sector in 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 in the Cookeville economy. Health care workers comprise about 12% of the work force with 3,840 employees. Education is another major sector with nearly 2,000 employees at

and the public school system. There are a number of companies based in Cookeville. In 2006

Oreck Oreck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Bruce J. Oreck (born 1953), American politician *David Oreck (1923–2023), American entrepreneur, business salesman, and lecturer, father of Bruce *Don Oreck (1930—2006), American act ...

manufacturing moved their

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

plant to Cookeville after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. Oreck employs about 500 people and is a prominent business in the region. The trucking company

Averitt Express Averitt Express is a privately owned transportation and supply chain management company based in Cookeville, Tennessee. The company was founded as Livingston Merchant's Co-op in 1958 and incorporated as Averitt Express in 1969. Averitt is owned b ...

is based in Cookeville, as is J&S Construction. The manufacturing company ATC Automation is also based in Cookeville, and in 2016 announced a $10.4 million investment plan intended to add 110 engineering jobs to the city. Later in 2016, Academy Sports + Outdoors opened a 1.6 million square foot distribution center in Cookeville, the largest distribution center in the state under one roof and employing 700. Also in 2016, Spanish automotive supplier Ficosa relocated a factory and 450 jobs from nearby Crossville to a new, $58 million facility in Cookeville where it added an additional 550 jobs. The Ficosa plant produces high-tech rear-view mirrors.

Technology and research

In 2017, Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE:SAIC) announced that it is establishing its first center of excellence to deliver information technology services in downtown Cookeville. It will be named the Technology Integration Gateway and will employ 300 information technology (IT) professionals when fully developed. Also in 2017, Scottsdale, AZ, based Digital Dream Forge opened a software testing facility in Cookeville, employing 80. In 2018, Italian tile and glass maker Colorrobia announced it would open a $5 million laboratory in Cookeville to service ceramic tile factories in the area.

Retail

Interstate Drive, located parallel to

at the south end of town, is the site of many popular

and

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

. A new 228,000 square foot

retail park A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. They form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, standal ...

is now operational using the name of the ''Shoppes at Eagle Point'' just off of Interstate Drive at the intersection of South Walnut Ave. and E. Veterans Dr. Historic Downtown's West Side is the site of several locally owned retail stores and restaurants, including the Cream City ice cream and coffee shop, Ralph's Donut Shop, Crawdaddy's West Side Grill, The Backroom Bistro, World Foods, The Blue Pig, Father Tom's Pub, Seven Senses Food & Cheer, and others. Cookeville is also home to three of the region's

microbreweries Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

, the Red Silo Brewing Company, Hix Farm Brewery, and Jig Head Brewing Company. Cookeville is considered to be

Crossfit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

's "global mecca," with many of the world's top

Crossfit Games The CrossFit Games is an annual athletic competition owned and operated by CrossFit, LLC. Athletes compete in a series of events at the Games, which may be various standard CrossFit workouts consisting of metabolic conditioning exercises, weightl ...

athletes living and training together at four-time individual champion

Rich Froning Rich Froning Jr. (born July 21, 1987) is an American professional CrossFit athlete known for his achievements participating in the CrossFit Games. He became the first person to win the title of "Fittest Man on Earth" four times with his first-plac ...

CrossFit Mayhem CrossFit Mayhem is a CrossFit affiliate located in Cookeville, Tennessee. Mayhem was started in 2009 by Rich Froning Jr., Rich Froning Jr in his father's barn as a place to train. In 2012, Rich opened the original downtown facility, but almost immed ...

location.

Points of interest

Cummins Falls State Park Cummins Falls State Park is a state park located northwest of Cookeville in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its namesake, Cummins Falls, is a waterfall, which is located on the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River. The park was ...

Gerald D. Coorts Memorial Arboretum The Gerald D. Coorts Memorial Arboretum is an arboretum located on the campus of Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. The arboretum was dedicated in 1997 to honor Dr. Gerald Coorts, former dean of Tennessee Tech's College of ...

* Cookeville Depot Museum * Cane Creek Park *

Burgess Falls State Park Burgess Falls State Park is a state park and state natural area in Putnam County and White County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The park is situated around a steep gorge in which the Falling Water River drops in eleva ...

* Cookeville Performing Arts Center * Arda E. Lee's Hidden Hollow * White Plains

Museums

* Cookeville History Museum * Cookeville Children's Museum * Derryberry Art Gallery * Cumberland Art Society and Gallery * Appalachian Center for Craft Gallery

Performing arts

* Cookeville Community Band * Cookeville Children's Theatre * Dogwood Outdoor Performance Pavilion * Bryan Symphony Orchestra * Bryan Fine Arts Center * Mastersingers * Cookeville Performing Arts Center * Backdoor Playhouse * Drama Center Backstage * Wesley Arena Theatre * Shakespeare in the Park * StoryTeller Theatre and Academy * Brown Bag Lunch Concerts

Government

The city of Cookeville operates under the council-manager form of municipal government. There is an elected five-member

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, including a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, vice mayor, and three city council members. The city council establishes policy that is administered by a full-time

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

. All city council members serve four year terms, and the city manager and city clerk are appointed by the city council. The current mayor is Ricky Shelton, and the four other city council members are Vice Mayor Laurin Wheaton, Dr. Charles Womack, Mark Miller, and Eric Walker. The current city manager is James Mills and the current city clerk is Darian Coons. Cookeville is also the

of Putnam County. The current county mayor is Randy Porter. , the total population of Putnam County is 74,165.

Education

Cookeville is predominantly a

, home to

since 1915. Tennessee Tech is a public university with programs concentrating in

(STEM) studies and is ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as #35 on the list of the Top Regional Universities in the South, as well as the most under-rated university in the state of Tennessee. The university is rated under, "''Doctoral Universities - High Research Activity (R2)''" by the Carnegie classification system among schools with at least twenty (20) doctoral graduates per year. In addition to its outstanding science and engineering programs, the university is also home to the Mastersingers and the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble, led by renowned professor,

R. Winston Morris Ralph Winston Morris (born January 19, 1941 in Barnwell, South Carolina) is an American tubist. He served as professor of tuba and euphonium at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee, for 55 years, and subsequent to his retirement af ...

. In addition to Tennessee Tech, Cookeville is also home to a satellite campus of

Volunteer State Community College Volunteer State Community College (Vol State) is a public community college in Gallatin, Tennessee. It is part of the Tennessee Board of Regents. Vol State serves the suburban Nashville community. The main campus of the college is 30 miles (48& ...

as well as the Tennessee Bible College, a Christian college affiliated with the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...

. Public schools in the city of Cookeville are run by Putnam County Schools, which consists of a total of eighteen (18) elementary, middle and high schools located throughout Putnam County. The schools located in the city of Cookeville include

Cookeville High School Cookeville High School is a public secondary education facility located in Cookeville, Tennessee. It is part of the Putnam County School System. History According to Putnam County historian Mary Jean DeLozier, the first ‘high school’ establ ...

, 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 the six largest public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s in the state of Tennessee. Cookeville High School and Avery Trace Middle School are among the twenty (20) schools in the state of Tennessee to offer the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

program.

Media

The major daily

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

in Cookeville is the ''

Herald-Citizen The ''Herald-Citizen'' is a daily newspaper in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It has been published since 1903. See also * List of newspapers in Tennessee This is a list of newspapers in Tennessee, United States. Daily and nondaily news ...

'', which publishes in print and online formats six days per week (except Saturdays). Cookeville is also the headquarters of the '' Upper Cumberland Business Journal'', a quarterly business newspaper serving the 14-county Upper Cumberland region. Cookeville is also home to one broadcast television station,

WCTE WCTE (channel 22) is a PBS member television station in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States, serving the Cookeville, Tennessee micropolitan area, Upper Cumberland region. Owned by the Upper Cumberland Broadcast Council, the station originally had ...

TV 22 (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...

provides

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

service, and

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

provides

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

. Using cable or satellite, television stations and

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

s from the Nashville media market can be received. Local

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

s include Charter Communications,

Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...

, an
Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative
which has introduced gigabit broadband internet service in Cookeville. Cookeville's Social Media Website & Ap
Cookeville.com
Cookeville is also served by thirteen FM and three AM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

s. Tennessee Tech University's campus radio indie station operates at WTTU 88.5 FM, and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(NPR) broadcasts at WHRS 91.7 FM (simulcast with

WPLN WPLN may refer to: * WPLN-FM WPLN-FM (90.3 FM), is a National Public Radio-affiliated station in Nashville, Tennessee. Since June 2011, the station has employed exclusively a news and talk format; until then, the station carried at least some c ...

, Nashville).

Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

stations include

WKSW WKSW (98.5 FM, "98.5 Kiss FM") is a Top 40 music formatted radio station broadcasting from Cookeville, Tennessee Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census ...

98.5 Kiss FM &

WBXE WBXE (93.7 FM, "Rock 93.7") is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format. Licensed to Baxter, Tennessee Baxter is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,578 at the 2020 census.Tennessee Department o ...

Rock 93.7 FM, and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

can be found at

WGSQ WGSQ (94.7 FM, "Country Giant 94.7") is a radio station licensed to serve Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. The station is owned by Cookeville Communications, LLC. WGSQ broadcasts a country music format to the Upper Cumberland Area. Syndica ...

94.7 FM Country Giant &

WKXD-FM WKXD-FM (106.9 Hertz, MHz, "106.9 Kicks Country") is a radio station broadcasting a country music radio format, format. Licensed to Monterey, Tennessee, United States, the station is currently owned by Stonecom. History The Federal Communications ...

106.9 Kicks FM. There is also one

light rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

station at

WLQK WLQK (95.9 FM, "Lite Rock 95.9") is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary music format. Licensed to Livingston, Tennessee Livingston is a town in Overton County, Tennessee, United States, and serves as the county seat. The populat ...

95.9 FM & two

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...

stations:

WAYM AYM or aym may refer to: * Aymara language, spoken in Bolivia, Peru and Chile * The Alliance for Youth Movements, now known as Movements.org * ''Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada'', a 2016 Indian Tamil-language film * Angry young men, a British literar ...

90.5 FM Christian Hit Radio and WWOG 90.9 FM King of Kings Radio as well as

Catholic Radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk pro ...

station

WRIM Rim may refer to: *Rim (basketball), the hoop through which the ball must pass **Breakaway rim, a sprung basketball rim *Rim (coin), the raised edge which surrounds the coin design * Rim (crater), extending above the local surface *Rim (firearms), ...

89.9 Risen Radio. There are three

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

stations broadcasting on both the FM and the AM dials:

WPTN WPTN (780 AM, "106.1 The Eagle") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Cookeville, Tennessee, United States, the station serves the Cookeville area. The station is owned by Cookeville Communications, LLC. Because WPTN ...

The Eagle 106.1 FM and AM 780 (sports),

WHUB WHUB (1400 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Cookeville, Tennessee, United States, the station serves the Cookeville area. The station is owned by Cookeville Communications, LLC and features programmi ...

The Hub 107.7 FM and AM 1400 (news) and WUCT News Talk 94.1 FM and 1600 AM (news).

Infrastructure

Transportation

Cookeville is located approximately east of

and west of

along

(I-40).

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

is approximately to the south via

(SR 111). U.S. Route 70N (US 70N, Spring Street in central and eastern Cookeville, W. Broad Street on the western side) runs east–west through the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of the city, which is approximately northwest of the interchange of I-40 with SR 111. The major city streets running through the city are North Washington Ave. and South Jefferson Ave., which run north–south through the central business district, and Willow Ave., running north–south and immediately adjacent to Tennessee Tech University. In addition to Spring Street (US 70N), 10th Street runs east–west and connects North Washington Ave. with the neighboring town of Algood, and 12th Street runs east–west and connects North Washington with Willow, and leads out of town to the west, connecting with

Tennessee State Route 56 State Route 56 (SR 56) is a state highway that runs south to north in Middle Tennessee, from the Alabama state line near Sherwood to the Kentucky state line near Red Boiling Springs. SR 56 is secondary south of Sewanee. It is primary (but unsig ...

(SR 56, Gainesboro Highway), via Tennessee State Route 290 (SR 290). Running east–west adjacent to I-40 in the southern section of the city is Interstate Drive, which is populated by several national restaurant chains, hotels, and other businesses. There are no commercial passenger airports in the area, but commercial service has been studied by the Cookeville City Council as of 2022. Located in White County approximately 8.5

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

s (15.7 km) south of the

of the city is the Upper Cumberland Regional Airport , which is a small,

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airport serving primarily single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

aircraft. Commercial flights are available to residents at

Nashville International Airport Nashville International Airport is a public/military airport in the southeastern section of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1937, its original name was Berry Field, from which its ICAO and IATA identifiers are derived. The ...

, which is located along I-40 to the west. Airport shuttles are available for transportation to Nashville International, and the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency (UCHRA). UCHRA's Connect Upper Cumberland service route provides each community with daily intercity bus service on I-40 and I-24 routes into Nashville and Murfreesboro with stops along the route including the Greyhound Bus Station, airport, and other requested destinations. Since Cookeville's founding,

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

was a major part of the economy, and the

Tennessee Central Railway The Tennessee Central Railway was founded in 1884 as the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad by Alexander S. Crawford. It was an attempt to open up a rail route from the coal and minerals of East Tennessee to the markets of the Middle Tennessee, mid ...

connecting

and

had a major rail depot in the central business district. This railway was used primarily to transport the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

and

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...

to the markets of the midstate region. The coal industry declined during the 1960s, and the Tennessee Central Railway was discontinued in 1968. Construction of a bicycle trail adjacent to the railway's path began in August 2013, with the reconstruction of the rail depot in

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

. Plans are to connect this depot and the rail depot in Cookeville's central business district (now a museum) with a bicycle trail.

Notable people

Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is currently in his second stint as the head football coach for the University of North Carolina, where he first coached from 1988 until departing in 1997, whe ...

– head football coach of the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

and former head football coach of the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

Watson Brown Watson Brown may refer to: * Watson Brown (American football) Lester Watson Brown (born April 19, 1950) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at Tennessee Technological University, a ...

– older brother of North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown, former head football coach of the

Rice Owls Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of Conference USA, Rice sponsors teams in seven men's and seven women's NCAA sanctio ...

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's team ...

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of Conference USA (C-USA) and participates in Division I of th ...

, and

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee Technological University (TTU), located in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. The TTU athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and c ...

Jim Carlen James Anthony Carlen III (July 11, 1933 – July 22, 2012) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at West Virginia University (1966–1969) and Texas Tech University (19 ...

– former head football coach of the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Moun ...

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raide ...

, and

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

Rich Froning Jr. Rich Froning Jr. (born July 21, 1987) is an American professional CrossFit athlete known for his achievements participating in the CrossFit Games. He became the first person to win the title of "Fittest Man on Earth" four times with his first-plac ...

– four-time individual and four-time team champion of the

CrossFit Games The CrossFit Games is an annual athletic competition owned and operated by CrossFit, LLC. Athletes compete in a series of events at the Games, which may be various standard CrossFit workouts consisting of metabolic conditioning exercises, weightl ...

Robert Ben Garant Robert Ben Garant (born September 14, 1970), credited earlier in his career as Ben Garant, is an American screenwriter, producer, director, actor and comedian. He has a long professional relationship with Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silve ...

– "Deputy Junior" from the TV show ''

Reno 911! ''Reno 911!'' is an American comedy television series airing on Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically '' Cops'', with comic actors playing the police officers. Thomas Lennon, Rober ...

'' * Bobby Greenwood – former

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

player,

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

Jake Hoot Jake Hoot (born July 7, 1988) is an American country singer. He was the winner of season 17 of the American talent competition ''The Voice'' at the age of 31. Early life Jake Hoot was born in Texas on July 7, 1988. Jake is the second oldest of ...

– winner of the 17th season of ''The Voice'' *

Huda Kattan Huda Kattan (born October 2, 1983) is an American makeup artist, beauty blogger, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the cosmetics line Huda Beauty. Early life Huda Kattan was born on October 2, 1983, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as one of ...

– makeup artist, beauty blogger, and founder of cosmetics line Huda Beauty *

Byron (Low Tax) Looper Byron (Low Tax) Looper (born Byron Anthony Looper; September 15, 1964 – June 26, 2013) was a Democratic turned Republican politician in Tennessee and convicted murderer. In order to advance his political career, he legally changed his midd ...

– one-time property assessor and convicted murderer of State Senator Tommy Burks in 1998 *

Harold E. Martin Harold Eugene Martin (October 4, 1923 – July 4, 2007) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper editor and publisher who was also a director of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. During his career, Martin lived in the U.S. states of Alabama ...

– a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning newspaperman, was the former co-owner of the ''Herald Citizen'' *

Billy Napier William Hall Napier (born July 21, 1979) is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he served as head coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, amassing a 40–12 rec ...

– head football coach of the

University of Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

and former head football coach of the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

Jack Norton Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a ...

– children's musician and host of ''The Zinghoppers'' children's TV show that has been broadcast on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and

stations. *

Alison Piepmeier Alison Piepmeier (December 11, 1972 – August 12, 2016) was an American scholar and feminist, known for her book ''Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism''. She was director of Women's and Gender Studies and associate professor of English at ...

– was an American scholar and feminist, known for her book ''Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism''. She was director of Women's and Gender Studies and associate professor of English at the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

. * J. J. Redick –

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

er, former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player, last played with the

Mavericks Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

born in Cookeville, but grew up in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

. *

Elmo Stoll Elmo Stoll (March 5, 1944 – September 2, 1998) was a former Old Order Amish bishop, writer and founder of the "Christian Communities". He was one of the few Amish who "have risen to prominence over the years".Kevin Williams, Lovina Eicher: ''Am ...

– a former

Old Order Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite church ...

bishop, who founded of the "Christian Communities", of which the center was Cookeville. *

Trent Taylor Trent Nelson Taylor (born April 30, 1994) is an American football wide receiver and punt returner for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisiana Tech and was drafted by the San Francisco 49e ...

– professional American football player for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, born in Cookeville, but moved away from town when he was two *

Lonnie Warwick Lonnie Preston Warwick (born February 26, 1942) is a former professional American football player. He played 10 seasons in the National Football League, with the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons. He started in Super Bowl IV. College caree ...

– former professional football player for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

William Eldridge Odom William Eldridge Odom (June 23, 1932 – May 30, 2008) was a United States Army lieutenant general who served as Director of the National Security Agency under President Ronald Reagan, which culminated a 31-year career in military intelligence, m ...

– former director of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

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Convention and Visitors Bureau
{{authority control 1854 establishments in Tennessee Cities in Putnam County, Tennessee Cities in Tennessee Cookeville, Tennessee micropolitan area County seats in Tennessee