PUTNAM COUNTY

The "Big Falls" at Burgess Falls
County Seat: Cookeville
On the southern edge of Putnam County is the Burgess Falls State Natural Area. Today this is a great place to hike and relax. But back in the 1920s the city of Cookville built a hydroelectric dam there to generate electricity. The power plant was shut down in 1944 and the dam hasn't produced electricity since. Click here for our virtual tour of Burgess Falls.
Another Story: The next time you are out on an interstate, keep an eye out for big 18-wheeler trucks with the name Averitt Express on them. Averitt is one of the largest trucking companies in the world, and it happens to based in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was started in 1958 under the name Livingston Merchant’s Co-op. The main person responsible for its growth over the years is not its founder Thurman Averitt, but the man who bought the company in 1971, whose name is Gary Sasser. Today Averitt has 3,000 trucks. That’s right – 3,000 trucks! If they were lined up one behind the other, just think how long the line of trucks would be!

Thankfully, there were no 18-wheelers parked in front of the Putnam County Courthouse the day we took this picture.

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