Cumberland County,
Kentucky GenWeb Site

County Seat- Burkesville

Previous name(s)- Cumberland Crossing
modern location- Located about 90 minutes east of Bowling Green, KY and to the northeast of Nashville, TN, Highway 90 runs east/west through Cumberland County. Cumberland Lake lies to the northeast with the headwaters of Wolf Creek Dam located in the county and Dale Hollow Lake to the south east with portions of Dale Hollow Lake located within the county.

The thirty-second county in order of formation, Cumberland County is located in south-central Kentucky along the Tennessee state line. It has an area of 307 square miles. Cumberland County was formed on December 14, 1798, from a portion of Green County and named for the Cumberland River, which flows through the county. The county seat is BURKESVILLE. The County is bordered by Adair County (north), Russell County (northeast), Clinton County (east), Clay County, TN (south), Monroe County (west), Metcalfe County (northwest). There are many small communties, such as Marrowbone, Grider, Kettle, Waterview, Bow, Hegria, Renox, Bakerton and the county seat of Burkesville ..

The topography of Cumberland County varies from level river bottom to  hilly terrain.  Much of the land is covered with timber.  Water sources in the county are the Cumberland River, Marrowbone Creek, and many smaller creeks and streams, plus the northern portion of the 27,000-acre Dale Hollow Lake.

The first settlers came into the region in the 1780s and early 1790s from Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. In 1769, Daniel Boone explored the area that later became Cumberland County. According to local legend, the first settlers fought an intense battle with the Indians in 1790 about ten miles north of what is now Burksville. A daring rescue of a young girl from the Indians took place at Little Renox Falls. A group of settlers attacked the Indian captors of the girl, killed them, and saved the girl, suffering no casualties.

In the War of 1812, General John Edwards King of Burkesville commanded the Third Brigade in the Battle of Thames. At this time General King was about fifty-five years old and was Circuit Court Clerk of Cumberland County. His home was on Hwy. 61 near the city limits and was later the home of the Cheek family, originators of Maxwell House Coffee.  The house was demolished a few years ago and there is now a new home on the site.

When the Civil War began, Cumberland Countians for the most part were in sympathy with the Union cause. In the election of 1860, 67 percent of the voters cast their ballots in favor of the Constitutional Union Party, led by John Bell of Tennessee; Abraham Lincoln received seven votes. When war began in 1861, many joined the 5th Kentucky Cavalry under the command of Burkesville resident Col. David Haggard. The 3d Kentucky Volunteer and the 16th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry also received numerous Cumberland County men.

Cumberland County experienced several raids during the course of the war. Gen. John Hunt Morgan's cavalry crossed the Cumberland River at Burkesville in January, 1863. On February 12, 1863, two companies of Morgan's cavalry attacked and defeated Federal troops at Burkesville. Throughout 1862 and 1863, raids and skirmishes occurred in the county.

After the Civil War, Cumberland County's economy was in a state of disarray and for many years the county remained economically depressed, with poor roads and communications. By the 1940s, new roads had constructed in the area and the county became more accessible to the rest of the state.

The economy of Cumberland County is principally based on agricultural production of tobacco, corn, and beef and dairy cattle. There are also lumber mills and  factories. The inlets and islands of Dale Hollow Lake and the Cumberland River  attract boaters and fishermen. Marinas and resorts include Hendrick's Creek, Sulphur Creek,  and the Dale Hollow State Park Resort.  Dale Hollow State Park provides swimming, camping, golf, and horseback riding trails. Another recreational activity is a float fishing trip down the Cumberland River.

Known for: Archeological and U.S. History, fine farmlands, excellent fishing and water recreation, hunting, and some of the finest, most helpful and friendly folks in the world.

Please Note: The town of Cumberland is in Harlan County, not Cumberland County.

part of the US GENWEB

In March and April, 1996 a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project. The idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky, where collected databases would be stored. In addition, the databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so that even if an individual were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index. At the same time, volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of databases and generally oversee the contents of the web page. Required elements of a county page included offering queries and lookups. This project became known as KyGenWeb. Within just a few months, most of the Kentucky counties had a volunteer coordinator, and it was decided to expand the project to include the other states... and USGenWeb was born, and a short time later WorldGenWeb.