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Tennessee County
Cumberland County, Tennessee
The Golf Capital of Tennessee and the Cumberland Homesteads - from Crossville's designation as the Golf Capital of Tennessee (more than a dozen golf courses serve a retirement community population that makes Cumberland County one of the fastest-growing retirement destinations in the South) to the Cumberland Homesteads (a 1934 New Deal project that resettled unemployed Tennessee families on small farms in an ambitious but ultimately troubled experiment in cooperative rural living - the octagonal stone tower and homestead cottages are now a National Historic District) and the Cumberland Plateau's spectacular Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
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What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
911: Cumberland County Emergency Communications District – dispatches for all county emergency/public safety agencies; confirm current phone via cumberlandtn911.org.
Roads: I-40 and US-127 serve Crossville, the county seat, on the Cumberland Plateau
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: The 1905 Cumberland County Courthouse, built of Indiana limestone and designed by architectural firm W. Chamberlain and Company, is the county’s third courthouse and a National Register of Historic Places listing since 1980.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cumberland County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via cumberlandcountytn.gov.
Notes: Cumberland County is genuinely home to one of the most significant New Deal-era communities in the country. Cumberland Homesteads, established in 1934 by the federal Division of Subsistence Homesteads, was one of roughly 100 New Deal Subsistence Homesteads Communities nationwide and among the largest – over 20,000 acres south of Crossville were purchased to house 251 selected families (a real mix of distressed farmers, unemployed miners and textile workers, and struggling professionals). TVA architect William Macy Stanton designed the buildings, constructed largely from locally quarried “Crab Orchard” sandstone. The centerpiece Homesteads Tower, built 1937-38 to house administrative offices until 1947, is a real octagonal stone landmark with a 97-step staircase to a lookout platform, now a museum (National Register of Historic Places, 1988, 10,250-acre historic district). The Civilian Conservation Corps built the recreational facilities that now form nearby Cumberland Mountain State Park.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Cumberland County Veterans Services Office – (931) 456-0090 | [email protected] | 2 S Main St, Suite 105, Crossville, TN 38555 (temporarily relocated to the Milo Lemert Building across Main Street during active construction – confirm current location before visiting) | Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM-4 PM. Assistant VSO Wendy Johnston has served since September 2012.
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Art Circle Public Library, Crossville – confirm current address/phone via cumberlandcountytn.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Cumberland Homesteads (see above), the Homesteads Tower Museum, and the separate Homestead House Museum (2611 Pigeon Ridge Rd, restored to 1930s condition, open seasonally April-October, Mon-Sat 1-5 PM) are genuine, extensively preserved heritage sites. Cumberland Mountain State Park, Ozone Falls State Natural Area, and the Cumberland Trail offer real outdoor recreation on the Plateau. Cumberland County Playhouse is a notable local performing arts venue.
Notes: The genuine Cumberland Homesteads New Deal heritage is one of the most historically significant and extensively documented sites covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Cumberland County Property Assessor – Kelli Tipton Buchanon | 2 South Main Street, Suite 101, Crossville, TN 38555 | (931) 484-5745 | Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM-4 PM
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Cumberland County Animal Shelter – 782 East Lane, Crossville, TN 38555 | (931) 484-8525 | Hours: Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday, 10 AM-2 PM (closed Wednesday and Sunday).
NOTES: Cumberland County is the fourth county in this batch (Cocke, Coffee, Crockett, Cumberland, Davidson, Decatur, DeKalb) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine Cumberland Homesteads New Deal community is one of the most historically significant and best-preserved sites covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Cumberland County
Cumberland County is Tennessee’s premier retirement destination – a Cumberland Plateau community whose moderate climate, low taxes, affordable housing, and extraordinary golf course concentration have made it one of the fastest-growing retirement counties in the South.
Crossville (the county seat, population ~12,000) sits at 1,885 feet on the Cumberland Plateau – the elevation produces milder summers than the surrounding Tennessee valleys, a primary draw for retirees from the Midwest and Northeast. Over a dozen golf courses serve a population where retirees represent an unusually high proportion of residents.
The Cumberland Homesteads – a 1934-36 New Deal project that established 252 homestead families on small cooperative farms – is a National Historic District. The distinctive octagonal stone tower and homestead cottages reflect the optimistic vision of the New Deal’s rural resettlement programs.
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area – accessible from Cumberland County’s eastern edge – provides whitewater paddling, hiking, horseback riding, and rock climbing in one of the Southeast’s most spectacular gorge landscapes.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Cumberland County Assessor of Property at 2 N. Main Street, Suite 203, Crossville, TN 38555, phone 931-484-5745. No TN income, inheritance, or estate tax.
Courts & Legal
Cumberland County Chancery Court at 2 N. Main Street, Suite 101, Crossville, TN 38555, phone 931-484-6442, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
2 South Main St, Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 484-6217
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Cumberland County Clerk and Master, Crossville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1905 Cumberland County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local historic landmark (now retired from active courthouse use since 2009).
Local societies
No dedicated Cumberland County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Clerk and Master, Cumberland County 60 Justice Center Drive, Suite 226, Crossville, TN 38555 (931) 484-4731
Cumberland County is on the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee, seated in Crossville. The historic 1905 Cumberland County Courthouse served the county until a new justice center was built in 2009, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Tennessee has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Instead, Tennessee uses its own common form and solemn form probate framework, governed by Title 30 of the Tennessee Code Annotated. In Cumberland County, the Clerk and Master (part of Chancery Court) administers probate.
Small Estate Affidavit (T.C.A. §§ 30-4-101 through 30-4-103) – available when the value of the probate estate does not exceed $50,000 (personal property; real property is generally excluded). The affidavit can be filed no sooner than 45 days after death. A bond payable to the state is commonly required to protect creditors and other heirs, though it is often waived when the person filing is the estate’s sole heir/beneficiary, or when all heirs consent in writing.
Common Form Probate – the standard, uncontested path: the will (if any) is admitted to probate without formal notice to all interested parties, and the personal representative is appointed and issued Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Solemn Form Probate – used when formal proof of the will’s validity is needed, typically because of an anticipated will contest; requires notice to all interested parties and a hearing.
Muniment of Title – used to transfer real estate when there is a valid will but no other assets requiring administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files the original will (if one exists) and a Petition for Probate of Will or Petition for Letters of Administration with the Cumberland County Clerk and Master.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (testate) or Letters of Administration (intestate), giving the personal representative authority to act.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors in a local newspaper; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly around 4 months from the notice) to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets (may be waived by the will or by all beneficiaries).
The personal representative pays valid debts, expenses, and taxes.
The estate is closed with a final accounting (unless waived) and distribution to beneficiaries or heirs.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county; confirm current fees with Cumberland County directly.
Tennessee has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or executors – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval if contested.
Tennessee does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Typical timeline for a simple, uncontested estate: roughly 6-9 months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
145 Sixth St, Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 484-6522
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
355 Livingston Rd, Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 484-6162
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1225 South Main St, Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 484-6144
DHS Office
45 South Main St, Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 707-5100
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Cumberland County Health Department – confirm current contact via cumberlandcountytn.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Crossville
Population: 62,000
Established: 1855
Tier: 3
Public Records
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Search public records for Cumberland County residents.
