The Cumberland River

The Cumberland River. Mill Springs Battlefield. , The Cumberland River has fueled the economy of this region for thousands of years., An Avenue of Commerce , Native Americans hunted deer and turkey here, and harvested the river's mussels and fish. Benjamin Price, who came to this area in 1775, was the first of a flood of settlers. Soon, flatboats were taking crops downriver and returning with manufactured goods. , In 1833, the steamboat Jefferson docked at Mill Springs. Soon they were regular visitors, the cantankerous Cumberland permitting. The river was not the broad, calm expanse you see today. In summer and fall, sandbars and snags made steam travel impossible above Nashville. Despite these difficulties, trade was lively. The arrival of a steamboat always generated excitement, it might bring the mail, the latest fashions, or friends coming to visit. , A New Era , During the Civil War, the river was a lifeline for Confederate troops here and across the fiver at Beech Grove. After the war, it remained an important part of life at Mill Springs. Ultimately, however, the rise of railroads and lack of resources to further improve the upper Cumberland caused river traffic to dwindle. The last working steamboat docked here in 1933. , A new era began with the construction of hydroelectric dams during World War II. Wolf Creek Dam, completed in 1952, created Lake Cumberland. Steamboats no longer work the river, but hundreds of pleasure craft ply Lake Cumberland every summer.