added migration category
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''[[United States|United States]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Tennessee|Tennessee]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[{{PAGENAME}}]]''
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''[[United States|United States
]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[United States Migration Internal|Migration]][[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Kentucky|Kentucky
]][[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Tennessee|Tennessee]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[{{PAGENAME}}]]'' [[
Image
:Cumberland River.png|thumb|right|300px]]
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[[
File
:Cumberland River.png|thumb|right|300px
|<center>Cumberland River</center>
]]
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===Route===
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The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The 688-mile (1,107 km)-long[2] river run through southern Kentucky and north-central Tennessee. The river flows generally west from a source in the Appalachian Mountains to its confluence with the Ohio River near Paducah, Kentucky and the mouth of the Tennessee River. Major tributaries include the Obey, Caney Fork, Stones, and Red Rivers. Although the Cumberland River basin is predominantly rural, there are also some large cities on the river including Nashville and Clarksville, both in Tennessee.
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===
History
===
+
===
Route
===
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The explorer Thomas Walker, of Virginia, in 1758, named the river, but whether for the Duke of Cumberland or named for the English County of Cumberland it is not satisfactorily decided.
+
−
The Cumberland River
was called Wasioto by Native Americans and Riviere des Chaouanons, or "river
of the
Shawnee
,
" by French traders
. The river
was also known as
the
Shawnee
River
(or Shawanoe
River
) for years after Walker's trip
.
+
The Cumberland River
is a major waterway
of the
Southern United States. The 688-mile (1
,
107 km)-long[2] river run through southern Kentucky and north-central Tennessee
. The river
flows generally west from a source in
the
Appalachian Mountains to its confluence with the Ohio
River
near Paducah, Kentucky and the mouth of the Tennessee
River
. Major tributaries include the Obey, Caney Fork, Stones, and Red Rivers. Although the Cumberland River basin is predominantly rural, there are also some large cities on the river including Nashville and Clarksville, both in Tennessee
.
−
Important first as a passage for hunters and settlers, the Cumberland River also supported later riverboat trade which reached to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Villages, towns and cities were located at landing points along its banks. Through the middle of the 19th century, settlers depended on rivers for trading and travel.
+
=== History ===
−
the Cumberland region grew
in
population and agricultural wealth as keelboats and other craft ran produce such as tobacco and cotton from Nashville down to New Orleans. In
the
early 1800s sailing ships like the seventy-four-ton Concordia were built at Cairo in Sumner County
,
sailed downriver to New Orleans, and were sold
for
use in coastal and foreign commerce. In March 1819
the
steamboat General Jackson arrived in Nashville. Nashvillians financed
the
construction
of
the steamboat and
it
was registered to the Port of Nashville. By 1828 boats were steaming up to the Caney Fork, and in 1833 the Jefferson reached Burnside, Kentucky
.
+
The explorer Thomas Walker, of Virginia,
in
1758, named
the
river
,
but whether
for the
Duke of Cumberland or named for
the
English County
of
Cumberland
it
is not satisfactorily decided
.
−
In 1825 increasing steamboat trade led the Tennessee legislature to petition Congress for a survey of the
Cumberland
, which had become the main shipping path for Middle Tennessee produce. Between 1832
and
1838 Congress appropriated $155
,
000 for
river
improvements, viewing the potential production from coal fields
of
eastern Kentucky as justification for navigational improvements. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began alterations that included clearing snags and constructing wing dams to deepen
the
channel
. The
improvement project ended, however, with
the
Panic of 1837 and did not resume until the 1870s
.
+
The
Cumberland
River was called Wasioto by Native Americans
and
Riviere des Chaouanons
,
or "
river of the
Shawnee," by French traders
. The
river was also known as
the
Shawnee River (or Shawanoe River) for years after Walker's trip
.
−
===Civil War===
+
Important first as a passage for hunters and settlers, the Cumberland River also supported later riverboat trade which reached to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Villages, towns and cities were located at landing points along its banks. Through the middle of the 19th century, settlers depended on rivers for trading and travel.
−
The Cumberland River also was of strategic importance during
the
Civil War. Confederate Fort Donelson, constructed 50 miles
from
its mouth on the Ohio River, guarded the river approaches to
Nashville
. When the fort fell
to
U.S
.
troops
in
February 1862
,
Flag Officer Andrew Foote quickly brought that section of
the
river under Federal control
.
Union boats patrolled
the
river to Carthage throughout
the
Civil War, but Confederate guerrillas often threatened
the
stretch between
Nashville
and Clarksville
.
The Upper Cumberland proved hard
to
defend also
, and
Confederate troops often crossed between Hartsville and the state line to carry out raids
in Kentucky
. In 1865 peace brought a new boom to the river
.
+
the
Cumberland region grew in population and agricultural wealth as keelboats and other craft ran produce such as tobacco and cotton
from Nashville
down
to
New Orleans
.
In the early 1800s sailing ships like the seventy-four-ton Concordia were built at Cairo
in
Sumner County
,
sailed downriver to New Orleans, and were sold for use in coastal and foreign commerce. In March 1819
the
steamboat General Jackson arrived in Nashville
.
Nashvillians financed
the
construction of
the
steamboat and it was registered to
the
Port of
Nashville.
By 1828 boats were steaming up
to
the Caney Fork
, and in
1833 the Jefferson reached Burnside,
Kentucky.
−
===River Traffic===
+
In
1825 increasing steamboat trade led
the
Tennessee legislature to petition Congress for
a
survey of
the
Cumberland, which had become the main shipping path for Middle Tennessee produce
.
Between 1832 and 1838 Congress appropriated $155,000 for river improvements, viewing
the
potential production
from
coal fields of eastern
Kentucky
as justification for navigational improvements
.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began alterations that included clearing snags and constructing wing dams
to
deepen
the
channel
.
The improvement project ended
,
however
,
with
the
Panic
of
1837 and did not resume until the 1870s
.
−
In the
early 1870s timber became
a
major industry on
the
river
.
Hardwood logs from
the
Upper Cumberland forests were rough sawn into hundreds of thousands of board feet at mills scattered
from
Carthage to
Kentucky.
Assembled into rafts up
to
100 by 30 by 8 feet in dimension,
the
timber was floated on high tide to Nashville and other markets for finishing
.
Cal Hamilton
,
an African American from Celina
,
became one of
the
most famous pilots
of
these rafts. Other famous rafters from Celina included Bob Riley of tall-tale fame
.
+
−
In 1871 Colonel S. T. Abert surveyed the river for the Corps of Engineers. His work generated two estimates for navigational improvements. The more expensive proposal, and the one favored by the corps, called for the construction of thirty locks and dams for slack water navigation. The corps justified the expense as providing access to the great coal fields of Kentucky, the timber of the Upper Cumberland, and the iron of the Western Highland Rim below Nashville. In 1887 engineers designed the first lock and dam (No. 1) to be built on the Cumberland above Nashville, and canal construction began in 1888. In 1892 Congress authorized construction of Lock and Dam A at the Harpeth Shoals. By 1900 six stone or concrete and timber dams had been built below Nashville and eight above. In 1924 fifteen locks and dams raised the river to a minimum of 6 feet from Burnside to Smithland, but by that time traffic from steamboats and log rafts had diminished significantly. The last steamboat, Rowena, left the trade in 1933. Gasoline-powered towboats took over the river scene, while railroads handled much of the freight.
+
=== Civil War ===
−
[[Category:Tennessee]] [[Category:Kentucky]]
+
+
The Cumberland River also was of strategic importance during the Civil War. Confederate Fort Donelson, constructed 50 miles from its mouth on the Ohio River, guarded the river approaches to Nashville. When the fort fell to U.S. troops in February 1862, Flag Officer Andrew Foote quickly brought that section of the river under Federal control. Union boats patrolled the river to Carthage throughout the Civil War, but Confederate guerrillas often threatened the stretch between Nashville and Clarksville. The Upper Cumberland proved hard to defend also, and Confederate troops often crossed between Hartsville and the state line to carry out raids in Kentucky. In 1865 peace brought a new boom to the river.
+
+
=== River Traffic ===
+
+
In the early 1870s timber became a major industry on the river. Hardwood logs from the Upper Cumberland forests were rough sawn into hundreds of thousands of board feet at mills scattered from Carthage to Kentucky. Assembled into rafts up to 100 by 30 by 8 feet in dimension, the timber was floated on high tide to Nashville and other markets for finishing. Cal Hamilton, an African American from Celina, became one of the most famous pilots of these rafts. Other famous rafters from Celina included Bob Riley of tall-tale fame.
+
+
In 1871 Colonel S. T. Abert surveyed the river for the Corps of Engineers. His work generated two estimates for navigational improvements. The more expensive proposal, and the one favored by the corps, called for the construction of thirty locks and dams for slack water navigation. The corps justified the expense as providing access to the great coal fields of Kentucky, the timber of the Upper Cumberland, and the iron of the Western Highland Rim below Nashville. In 1887 engineers designed the first lock and dam (No. 1) to be built on the Cumberland above Nashville, and canal construction began in 1888. In 1892 Congress authorized construction of Lock and Dam A at the Harpeth Shoals. By 1900 six stone or concrete and timber dams had been built below Nashville and eight above. In 1924 fifteen locks and dams raised the river to a minimum of 6 feet from Burnside to Smithland, but by that time traffic from steamboats and log rafts had diminished significantly. The last steamboat, Rowena, left the trade in 1933. Gasoline-powered towboats took over the river scene, while railroads handled much of the freight.
+
+
[[Category:Tennessee]] [[Category:Kentucky
]][[Category:US_Migration_Rivers_and_Lakes
]]