Driving Around Small Town Cookeville, TN in 4k Video

Filmed on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, I drive around Cookeville, Tennessee to see what's going on. Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842, up from 30,435 in 2010. 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. Previous to its settlement era, the area of Cookeville was dominated by the Cherokee Native American tribe through the Paleo-Indian to the early European colonization periods of history. The Cherokee would use the region as communal hunting grounds. The area surrounding Cookeville and Putnam County was first reported to be settled by Virginia and North Carolina longhunters around the late 1700s to early 1800s, most of whom were of English and Scotch-Irish descent. Settlers arrived by Avery's Trace, which was known as Walton Road in the area of what is present-day Cookeville. Entering the 19th century, the area was dominated economically with the rise of agriculture, logging, and timber production. The largely rugged landscape of the Cookeville area made it unsuitable for large-scale farming operations compared to most of the larger Middle Tennessee 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. Most residents opposed secession and wished to remain with the Union. Cookeville residents enrolled to assist in both the armies of the Confederacy and the Union. 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 four years later. 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 into a chartered city in 1903. 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. The state government would re-establish it into Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, a public institute of technology focused on education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In 1965, it would be renamed Tennessee Technological University. (Tennessee Tech) During the Jim Crow era of the 1950s, John's Place was one business where white and black locals often socialized despite their differences. John's Place is known for its southern cuisine – fried chicken, catfish, meatloaf, and corn bread, as well as beer. Throughout the segregation of the 1960s, the only place you could interact interracially was at John's Place, and many locals encountered their first African American at the restaurant. John's Place was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. 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 Tennessee Tech and the public school system. The unemployment rate as of May 2017 in Putnam County was 3.0%. The cost of living 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. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 34,842 people residing in the city. The per capita income for the city was $19,297. About 13.1% of families and 23.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over. #driving #travel #drivingtour