Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

Pickett County, Tennessee Pickett County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,001, making it the least populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Byrdstown. The city of Byrdstown and the Kentucky town of ...

, in the southeastern United States.

Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...

(1871–1955) served as U.S. Secretary of State under

President Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and played a pivotal role in the creation of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in the mid-1940s.

Geographical setting

Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park is situated along 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 ...

, a barren and hilly area where 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 ...

descends westward into the Central Basin. The site is approximately south of the Wolf River, north of the

Obey River The Obey River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 tributary of the Cumberland River in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It joins the Cumberland River near the t ...

, and east of the confluence of these two rivers at

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 ...

. The park is located along Tennessee State Route 325 (SR 325) a few miles west of the road's junction with

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 descript ...

(SR 111) at Byrdstown. The park is managed by the

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the government of the U.S. state of Tennessee, headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Environment and Conservation. The Department of Conservation ...

History and features

The 45 acre (.18 km²) site includes a refurbished representation of the log cabin where Hull was born in 1871 and a museum housing a number of Hull's personal items, including a replica of his 1945

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

. In 1953, the State of Tennessee purchased the cabin from the Amonett family and placed it in the hands of the Cordell Hull Birthplace and Memorial Association. The cabin was taken apart and rebuilt in the 1950s after its purchase by the state, and placed 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 1972. The museum was built in the 1960s.The information in this section obtained from: Tennessee Office of Strategic Planning,
The Cordell Hull Birthplace Area Management Plan
" (December 2002), 4-6. In the 1970s and 1980s, oversight of the Hull Birthplace shifted between

Pickett State Park Pickett Civilian Conservation Corps Memorial State Park (also known simply as Pickett State Park or Pickett CCC Memorial State Park) is a Tennessee state park in the upper Cumberland Mountains. It is located in Pickett County, northeast of the ci ...

and Standing Stone State Park, although the staff of both were deemed lacking in the necessary background for historical interpretation. After a report by

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 ...

placed the structure on its endangered places list in 1986, the State of Tennessee and Pickett County improved the site's management. The cabin was again rebuilt in 1996 in hopes of reestablishing historical accuracy that had been ignored by the previous rebuilding. In 1997, Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park was created when the state legislature approved funding for a full-time staff for the site.

Bunkum Cave

One of many substantial caves located on the limestone-rich Highland Rim, Bunkum Cave is situated along the headwaters of Cove Creek, just south of the Cordell Hull Birthplace. The mouth of the cave is approximately wide and high (30m x 9m). A 1992 survey of the cave by the

Tennessee Division of Archaeology The Tennessee Division of Archaeology (TDOA) is a division of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation responsible for managing prehistoric archaeological sites on lands owned by the U.S. state of Tennessee, conducting archaeologi ...

found evidence that the cave had been occupied during the

Middle Woodland period In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeolog ...

(c. 1000 B.C. - 1000 A.D.). William Hull, Cordell's father, used the cave to house a

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

still.The Cordell Hull Birthplace Area Management Plan
(2002), 14. The state purchased the cave and the surrounding in 2002 as an addition to the Cordell Hull Birthplace. Shortly thereafter, a loop trail was constructed to allow access to the cave's entrance. At present, a permit is required to explore the cave beyond its lighted area.

References

External links

Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park
— official site
Cordell Hull Birthplace & Museum State Park
- Friends of Cordell Hull, detailed information
Article from Tennessee History for Kids
{{authority control State parks of Tennessee Hull, Cordell Historic house museums in Tennessee Hull, Cordell, Birthplace State Park Hull, Cordell, Birthplace State Park Museums in Pickett County, Tennessee Protected areas of Pickett County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Pickett County, Tennessee Protected areas established in 1997 1997 establishments in Tennessee Hull, Cordell