Cumberland Mountain State Park Receives Excellence In Innovation Award

Cumberland Mountain State Park received the East Tennessee Excellence in Innovation Award at the 2015 Tennessee State Parks Management meeting.

Parks nominated for this award have demonstrated the ability to think outside the box to create new ideas for enhancement or improvement at their park. The innovative project must be long- lasting or far reaching.

Cumberland Mountain was chosen for the award due to the park’s renovation of the historic CCC bathhouse. The bathhouse was renovated and adapted to be reused as an interpretive facility with restrooms. Rather than destroying the aging and deteriorating fabric of the old CCC bathhouse, the park developed a plan to preserve the magnificent stone work and convert the site to an interpretive feature and public use area.

"The original structure had historic value and that value has been perpetuated through the skillful craftsmanship and design incorporated in the conversion. The conversion has rediscovered old features that were buried under earlier remodeling efforts and adapted old features, such as the louvered ventilation panels, so the innovative low-tech technologies of the CCC remain as valuable lessons," officials said. Some of the damaged louvered panes were sent to Pickett State Park to include in their CCC collection. 

This renovation was accompanied by replacement and rehabilitation of the 1960’s stone walkways and patio beside Cumberland Mountain’s restaurant.  

Cumberland Mountain State Park is situated on the Cumberland Plateau – a segment of the great upland, which extends from western New York to central Alabama. It is said to be the largest timbered plateau in America. This 1,720-acre park was acquired in 1938 as a project of the Farm Security Administration to provide a recreational area for some 250 families selected to homestead on the Cumberland Plateau.  For additional information about the park, visit tnstateparks.com/parks/about/cumberland-mountain.