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A Rendezvous with
Heritage on
CORDELL HULL HIGHWAY
Barren, Monroe, Metcalfe,
Cumberland & Clinton Counties, Kentucky
to
Clay, Overton & Pickett Counties, Tennessee
Rural America's 150 Mile
22nd Rollercoaster Yard
Sale
October 2, 3, &
4, 2008
A three day grassroots extravaganza
from Mammoth Cave, KY to Tennessee - around Dale Hollow Lake and back
to Glasgow, KY, with over 150 miles of yard sales, crafts, antiques,
handcrafted quilts, produce, southern foods, BBQ, entertainment, souvenirs,
flea markets and more!
Cordell
Hull Highway
The Cordell Hull Parkway is
a fifty-seven mile ribbon of road that threads through a most scenic
and historical route from Mammoth Cave, KY to the Tennessee state line.
In 1935, the Kentucky and Tennessee legislatures designated the route
connecting Mammoth Cave and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in
honor of Cordell Hull as a tribute to his services to the nation.
Hull, a Tennessee native of
Pickett County, had a successful law practice in nearby Celina, Gainesboro
and Carthage, Tennessee. He was a member of the House of Representatives
from 1907-31. He served many years as a U.S. Senator, beginning in 1931.
As Secretary of State under Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hull became known
universally as "The Father of the United Nations," an achievement
for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945.
First built in 1805, the winding roller coaster highway serves the special
needs of the Roller Coaster Fair beginning at Mammoth Cave National
Park (Hwy. 70) to Cave City (Hwy. 90) to Glasgow, where it converges
with Hwy. 63. Barren and Monroe Counties share KY 63 from Glasgow to
Tompkinsville, then Hwy. 163 to the Tennessee state line by way of Temple
Hill, Freedom, Mount Hermon, Mud Lick, Tompkinsville, Moores Mill and
Hestand. At the state line near Moss, TN, this historic roadway converges
with TN 52, destined to Celina and beyond.
This year, for the second time, the Roller Coaster Fair crosses into
Tennessee to Celina, in Clay County, where Cordell Hull had his first
law office. From Celina it goes along route 52 to Livingston, TN in
Overton County where he served as Circuit Judge. From Livingston follow
route 111 North to Byrdstown, to visit the Cordell Hull Birthplace and
Museum State Park.
Kentucky
and Tennessee Sites of Interest
Mammoth Cave
Horse Cave
Farmers Market
SCK Cultural Center
Fort Williams Civil War Fort
Old Mulkey Meetinghouse
Barren River State Park
Overton County Legacy Museum
Standing Stone State Park
Pickett State Park
Dale Hollow Lake
Clay County Historical Courthouse
Clay County Museum
The Borderlands Civil War Exhibit
Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area
Cumberland River
Obey River Campground RV Park
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Cordell
Hull (1871-1955)
Cordell Hull was born
in a log cabin in Pickett County, Tennessee, the son of William
and Elizabeth (Riley) Hull. His father was a farmer and a lumber
merchant. From a one-room schoolhouse in nearby Willow Grove,
Hull went on to earn a law degree from Cumberland University
in Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1891.
He practiced law and served as a Circuit Judge until elected
to Congress in 1907. He served as a U.S. Representative until
1931, when he was elected U.S. Senator. In 1933, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt appointed Hull Secretary of State. He is widely
credited, while in that post, of fostering the Good Neighbor
Policy with Latin America and with the development of the United
Nations. He was forced by ill health to resign in 1944 before
the final ratification of the United Nations Charter, but he
is known as "The Father of the United Nations," for
which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945.
The Cordell Hull Birthplace, Museum
and State Park is an historic site located on forty-five acres
in the rustic foothills of the Appalachian Mountains near Byrdstown,
Tennessee, midway between Nashville and Knoxville near the Kentucky
border.
The site consists of Hull's original log cabin birthplace, an
activities center, and a museum exhibition building housing
documents and artifacts pertaining to Hull's life and career.
The collection includes his Nobel Peace Prize medal, which he
donated along with many personal items. In addition to state
support, the museum has a private support group, the Friends
of Cordell Hull, which raises funds for educational activities
and additions to the museum collection.
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The
Old Mulkey Meetinghouse
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The Old Mulkey Meetinghouse was apparently
established in 1797 or 1798. It is noted as the oldest wooden
building of its kind in the state. The Old Mulkey Church, located
about two miles from present day Tompkinsville, was established
by a small band of pioneer Baptists from North and South Carolina
led by Philip and John Mulkey. At first, they had religious
services in their homes. Later, those who organized this church
acquired six acres of land and built a log meeting house on
the banks of Mill Creek, about 200 yards from the present site.
The first preacher mentioned in the 1798 minutes was John Mulkey.
In April 1804, a committee of seven men was appointed to make
plans for building a new meetinghouse. The next month the committee
reported that the building was to be 50 feet long and 30 feet
wide, shingled with jointed shingles, and including five windows
and three doors. This crude log structure, with puncheon floor,
pegleg seats, chinked and daubed walls, clapboard shutters,
and hand driven shingles was built with 12 corners and in the
shape of a cross with three doors. In 1809 the church "split"
over doctrine and the larger group remained and worshiped in
this building, later called the Mulkey Meetinghouse. The church
continued to meet there regularly until about 1855. In the early
1900's, local citizens spearheaded an effort to restore the
Meetinghouse. In November 1931, the meetinghouse and adjoining
cemetery were declared a Kentucky State Park.
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Sarah
Bowers, Founder of the Rollercoaster Fair
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The Rollercoaster Fair in Kentucky,
started in 1986 by Sarah Ann Bowers, is one of her proudest
accomplishments. Ms. Bowers wanted to improve the beautiful
Cordell Hull Highway and needed to prove that this road was
well traveled. Therefore, in 1986 she put a fair on the Cordell
Hull Highway and in 2001, 140,000 visitors traveled to the Rollercoaster
Fair! For their ten year anniversary, the attendance surpassed
that of the Kentucky Derby and today Hwy. 63, Kentucky Scenic
Byway is a road well traveled and has been greatly improved,
due to Ms. Bowers persistent efforts. Ms. Bowers has also been
instrumental in bringing Rollercoaster Fair 2002 in to the State
of Tennessee, working with Kentucky's neighbor and bringing
it down Hwy. 63 to Celina, Clay County, Livingston, Overton
County and ending in Byrdstown, Tennessee, birthplace of Cordell
Hull. The Rollercoaster Fair 2003 had the theme,
"Let Freedom Ring" and honored our U.S. Servicemen.
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www.rollercoasterfair.com
Albany/Clinton
County Chamber of Commerce
Burkesville-Cumberland County
Chamber of Commerce
Byrdstown-Pickett
County Chamber of Commerce
Cave City Chamber of Commerce
Edmonto/ Metcalfe County Chamber
of Commerce
Glasgow/Barren County
Chamber of Commerce
Tompkinsville/Monroe County
Chamber of Commerce
For More Information
Call:
Cordell Hull Birthplace
and Museum State Park
1300 Cordell Hull Memorial Drive
Byrdstown, TN 38549
Telephone: (931) 864-3247
Contact Robin Peeler
or Charles Sears
Friends of
Cordell Hull
Byrdstown Pickett County Chamber of Commerce
Toll Free - 1-888-406-4704
or
Contact the Chamber by E-mail!
© Cordell Hull Birthplace Museum State
Park 2008
page last updated April
10, 2008
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