The Homestead Tower and Museum in Crossville, Tennessee

The Homestead Tower and Museum is located at Highway 127 and Highway 68 in Crossville, Tennessee. The Tower and Museum are a remembrance of the Cumberland Homestead Community built in the area in the 1930's, which is a part of Crossville's interesting and diverse history.

The Cumberland Homestead Community in Crossville was established as part of the Subsistence Homestead Communities Program. This program was implemented by Franklin Roosevelt after he was elected President in 1932 to help families during the Great Depression. The program provided homes to 256 families of Cumberland County and created jobs for other residents who built roads, worked in the stone quarries, and who constructed the homes.

The Homestead Tower was built between the years of 1937 and 1938. The building originally housed the administrative offices of the Cumberland Homestead Community. In addition, the Tower held 50,000 gallons of water that supplied the residents of the Homestead area with water. The Homestead Tower is quite an impressive building, standing 85 feet tall. It is built of Crab Orchard stone which is a type of stone found in the region.

To get to the top of the Tower, visitors must carefully climb 97 narrow steps in a stairwell that can be quite stuffy on hot days. Thankfully, the stone keeps the stairwell a bit cooler than the air outside. The exhausting climb to the top is worth it, though. Once there, you are confronted with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and scenery.

At the base of the Tower is a small museum that houses historical items from the Homestead community. There is a room that displays the different types of furniture and appliances a Homestead house in the 1930's would have contained. There are other rooms that showcase the original families of the Homestead community with photographs and memorabilia. Walking through the Homestead Tower Museum is like taking a walk back in time 70 years.

The Homestead Tower and Museum is an interesting place to spend an afternoon in Crossville. Not only will visitors learn about a period in American history, you will also be awed by the amazing views from the top of the Tower. The Homestead Tower and Museum is open from April 1^st through December 1^st. The hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM and Sunday from 1 PM to 5 PM. For safety reasons, visitors are not allowed to climb to the top of the Tower during thunderstorms.