Living in Cookeville, Tennessee
By AMY DAVIS
for Tennessee Bible College
If you're thinking about becoming a student at Tennessee Bible College, you may be wondering about more than curriculum, books and professors. Most likely, you'll also want to know about your new surroundings too.
What's Cookeville like? Is it a big city or a small town? What about the weather? Will you need to bring your winter coat and snow boots?
Where will you shop? Where will you eat? What about recreation? You'll also want to know about community events and activities.
That's why we at TBC have been all over town taking photos and compiling information about the Cookeville area. We understand that your time at Tennessee Bible College will be more than an educational experience—it will also be a life experience. And we want to assist you any way we can as you decide whether TBC is the right place for you.
Location
Tennessee Bible College is located on nine acres of quiet, peaceful countryside in Cookeville, Tenn. We have warm summers and mild winters.
If you're traveling to Tennessee Bible College on Tennessee Highway 111, take the Cookeville-Monterey exit and turn east onto Spring Street. Look for this sign a short distance away and then take another left onto Grandview Drive. At the end of the street, take a right onto McCulley Road, and you'll see the white TBC school building on the left.
Cookeville is the county seat of Putnam County and is the regional hub of a 14-county area known as the Upper Cumberland. Located in the eastern portion of Middle Tennessee, Cookeville is approximately 76 miles east of Nashville, 100 miles west of Knoxville and 100 miles north of Chattanooga.
According to the Cookeville Area-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce web site, Cookeville's land area is 20.4 square miles. Approximately 26,000 reside within the city limits, with a corporate population of 42,000. The county has approximately 63,000 residents.
Cookeville's convenient location—with easy access to Interstate 40, US Highway 70 and Tennessee Highway 111—is one reason why TBC president and founder Malcolm Hill chose the city as home for the college in 1975. It's also the next county over from where the Northeast church of Christ elder and preacher was born and reared.
Tennessee Bible College is located on nine acres of beautiful, green countryside in Cookeville, Tenn. The city is approximately 76 miles east of Nashville, 100 miles west of Knoxville and 100 miles north of Chattanooga. Please come visit our campus and find out if TBC is the right place for you!
Cookeville is also a university town, being home to Tennessee Technological University, a school well known for its college of engineering, among others. Many TBC students additionally choose to take courses with Tennessee Tech, and vice-versa. The university is just two miles from the TBC campus.
Although Tennessee Bible College is located in the midst of the countryside, one doesn't have to travel more than a couple of miles from campus for a taste of small city life.
You won't find any skyscrapers in this town, but that doesn't mean Cookeville is lacking in hustle and bustle. It's a major center of activity, with residents of neighboring counties converging daily to work, shop, dine, receive health care or enjoy the abundance of recreational and cultural activities.
TBC students find everything they need in Cookeville to live a comfortable, convenient lifestyle while working toward their degree.
Where to shop
For food shopping, a student has numerous options. Food Lion is less than a mile away, and there are two Wal-Mart shopping centers to choose from—one on busy Jefferson Avenue in Cookeville and one in the small town of Algood, just four miles from campus. Students can also shop at Kroger, Bi-Lo, Save-A-Lot and Kmart, as well as local stores like Leo's Spring Street Market and Main Street Market in Algood.
For any other shopping necessity, the possibilities in Cookeville are limitless. Hundreds of clothes shopping centers and specialty stores for every purchasing need can be found throughout the town.
Not far from campus is the Cookeville Mall, which includes JC Penney and Peebles. Venturing further into Cookeville, students will find one of the city's most extensive shopping complexes, the Jackson Plaza, where one will find Old Navy, Sears, Belk, Goody's, T.J. Maxx, Rue 21, Cato, Books-A-Million, Kirkland Home and more.
Where to eat
Cookeville abounds in dining establishments as well. Burger King and Stroud's Barbecue are TBC's closest eateries.
A few miles away on Interstate Drive (better known as "Restaurant Row") is a long line of dining choices, including Golden Corral, Ruby Tuesday, Chick-Fil-A, Applebee's, Red Lobster, Chili's, Fazoli's, Ihop, Logan's Roadhouse, O'Charley's, Outback Steakhouse and many more.
Plenty of other establishments can be found all over Cookeville, offering everything from Chinese to Mexican to Italian to Japanese to Cajun foods—either fine dining or casual. And an abundance of unique mom-and-pop eateries and coffee shops seem to be around every corner, including several around the city's historic West Side district. There one will find World Foods, Thomas Andrew's, Crawdaddy's WestSide Grill, and even a chocolate shop called The Cocoa Ladies.
Recreation
When students need a break from their studies, they will find plenty of ways to enjoy their free time. Cookeville has several parks and natural areas for those seeking a leisurely escape from a busy schedule.
Cane Creek Park is a good place for fishing, hiking, picnicking, paddle boating, biking, bird watching and more. You may also want to check out Dogwood Park, Hidden Hollow Park, Cane Creek SportsPlex, City Lake Natural Area, Cinderella Park, Ensor Sink Natural Area, Franklin Avenue Park, Park View Park, Walnut Park, West End Park, Circle K Ranch and Cookeville Boat Dock and Resort. Cookeville has several golf courses as well.
Various businesses are located on the Cookeville Square
For some indoor fun, students may want to venture over to Bowling World, Highland 10 Cinema or the Fun Tunnel arcade. In addition, Putnam County Family YMCA always has plenty of fitness activities going on, and Cookeville Leisure Services offers various classes as well. You may also want to visit Cookeville Depot Museum or the Cookeville History Museum.
Cookeville is also overflowing with the arts, whether it be visual arts, performing arts, music or craft. Tennessee Tech has the Bryan Symphony Orchestra and student recitals for your listening pleasure, as well as numerous arts and cultural events throughout the year. Dogwood Park, located behind the Cookeville Drama Center and Putnam County Library, is a place to go on Sunday afternoon for concerts and plays. One can usually find something going on at the park's pavilion during the spring and summer months and even in early fall when the weather is nice.
Festivals:
Cookevillians love to celebrate, which is apparent from the following festivals and events which may also be of interest to TBC students:
April—Window on the World international festival at Tennessee Technological University (celebrates music, art, food and fares of various cultures)
May—Railroad Rendezvous SpringFest at Cookeville Depot and Historic Westside Downtown (offers train rides, horse-drawn buggy rides, historic entertainment and activities, contests, food, live bluegrass music and collectibles)
July—Freedom Fest at the Putnam County Fairgrounds (celebrates the nation's birthday with
fireworks and food)
July—Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree (Held in neighboring DeKalb County, this event attracts pickers
and grinners from all over the world)
August—Putnam County Fair (has rides, games, food, livestock shows, exhibits and more)
September—Fall FunFest in downtown Cookeville (offers barbecue cook-off, crafts, activities
and blues, jazz, Caribbean and reggae music)
Upper Cumberland Quilt Festival and Antique Engine and Tractor Show (two events in one weekend
with handmade quilt art, food and demonstrations)
October—Cookin' on the Square (a Habitat for Humanity fundraising event offering lunches of gumbo, rice, fresh bread, dessert and drink with a handcrafted pottery bowl)
November—Santa's Workshop (one of the largest indoor craft shows in the Upper Cumberland)
TBC students have plenty of choices for eating out in Cookeville. Here is Interstate Drive, also known as "Restaurant Row," which is lined with an ever-growing number of dining establishments.
Transportation
Students coming to Tennessee Bible College from a big city who are accustomed to public transportation may be surprised to find that such is almost nonexistent in Cookeville. There are no commuter trains, subway stations or local bus routes to take travelers to or fro.
While the city does have a taxi service, the best means of transporation is to drive one's own vehicle.
Beyond Cookeville
If students want to venture beyond the Cookeville city limits, they'll find plenty of places to explore that are an hour or less away from the TBC campus.
Maybe they would enjoy the sights of Center Hill Lake, Cordell Hull Lake or Dale Hollow Lake. Other places of interest include Burgess Falls State Park (between Cookeville and Sparta), Fall Creek Falls State Park (near Spencer), Edgar Evins State Park (on Center Hill Lake in DeKalb County), Bee Rock (Monterey), Rock Island State Park (Rock Island community), Cumberland Mountain State Park (Crossville), Ozone Falls Natural Area (Cumberland County), Standing Stone State Park (Hilham), Cordell Hull Birthplace Historic Park (Byrdstown), Pickett State Park (near Jamestown), Sergeant Alvin C. York Historic Park (Pall Mall), Colditz Cove Natural Area (Allardt) and the Big South Fork National Recreation Area (Oneida).
Come visit us
We at TBC hope you have found this information about Cookeville to be helpful.
If you have any other questions or would like to visit our campus, please call the college at (931)526-2616 or e-mail us at tbc@tn-biblecollege.edu
For information about enrollment, call the college at (931)526-2616 or e-mail tbc@tn-biblecollege.edu.
One of the largest shopping complexes in Cookeville is the Jackson Plaza, which includes such stores as Goodys, Belk, Sears, Old Navy, T J Maxx, Bi-lo, and much more.
Cane Creek SportsPlex is a happening place come springtime when teams begin battling it out on the baseball field.
You'll find flocks of feathered friends on the lake shore at Cane Creek Park.
The train depot in the historic West Side District of Cookeville is worth a visit. Each May, a Railroad Rendezvous SpringFest is held with live bluegrass music, train rides and more.
Cookeville's historic West Side District, with its abundance of unique boutiques, gift shops and eateries, makes for a good leisurely stroll if one enjoys window shopping. Broadway Boutique Mall, shown here, displays some glass art
Artists in Cookeville aren't limited to galleries when showing their work—one painter opted for the side of a building in the West Side District.
'Niagara of the South' — The rushing waters of the Cumberland River crash down more than 60 feet into a boulder-strewn gorge as a rainbow rises from the mist at Cumberland Falls in Whitley County, Ky. The shot was captured by Mark Day of Algood as he traveled through the state park with family on July 14 on their way to a reunion. Day, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., moved to the Cookeville area in 2005. He is a student at Tennessee Bible College and preaches at Midway Church of Christ near Spencer. On clear nights under a full moon, a moonbow can be seen at the falls — a phenomenon not found anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere, according to the state park's web site. Cumberland Falls State Park is an approximate 2 1/2-hour drive from Cookeville.
Joy Wheeler, an employee of Tennessee Bible College, was fortunate to get a photo of a beautiful sunset over Center Hill Lake from Edgar Evins State Park in neighboring Dekalb County. The scenic State Park is about a 30-minute drive from Cookeville.