WARREN COUNTY

Warren County is the site of Cumberland Caverns, one of the most extensive cave systems in the Volunteer State and a place that has had a storied and somewhat frightening history. It was originally discovered in 1810 by Aaron Higginbotham, a surveyor who unwisely decided to explore the cave by himself only to spent three terrifying days waiting to be rescued after his torch went out. The cave was mined for saltpeter (a key ingredient of gunpowder) during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

Cumberland Caverns was opened to the public as a tourist attraction in 1955 and has been a favorite destination for spelunkers ever since.

Also in Warren County you will find a breathtaking waterfall with a bizarre story behind it. The waterfall is known as Twin Falls; it comes gushing out of a cliff in Warren County and tumbles into the waters of Caney Fork River, which serves as the boundary between Warren and White counties. The strange thing about Twin Falls is that it was man-made; the falls didn't used to exist, but water began pouring out of the side of the mountain shortly after the Tennessee Electric Power Co. completed Great Falls Dam in 1916.

The dam, you see, caused the water level of the Collins River to rise several feet. When it did, water from the Collins River began finding its way through the mountain that separates it from the Caney Fork River.

Warren County also has so many places to buy trees (known as nurseries) that it is known as “Nursery Capital of the World.” Many of the stores that sell trees in Tennessee actually get them from wholesalers in this part of Tennessee. So if you see someone planting a tree near your house, chances are it might be a native of Warren County.

Finally, Warren County was the birthplace of one of the most famous African-American journalists in American history, Carl Rowan. Click here for more information about him.

And here is the Warren County Courthouse in McMinnville.