Monteagle
Franklin, Grundy & Marion Counties, Tennessee · Cumberland Plateau
Overview
Originally known as "Moffat Station," Monteagle was founded in 1870 by temperance organizer John Moffat. Thanks to being one of the narrowest parts of the Cumberland Plateau, it had long been a preferred route across this area's high elevation. In 1838, one of the last groups of Cherokees removed from the Southeastern United States to Oklahoma passed through en route to Oklahoma on what became known as the Trail of Tears.
After Interstate 24 was established, the town would be memorialized in songs by Jerry Reed and Johnny Cash that describe the steep grade that challenges truckers traveling between Nashville and Chattanooga. Monteagle is home to the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, a Chautauqua-inspired community of summer cottages that was established in 1882. The Highlander Folk School, a center for training labor and civil rights leaders, including Rosa Parks, was located in Monteagle between 1932 and 1961.
Fun fact: Monteagle sits in three counties: Franklin, Grundy, and Marion.
History
A summary of Monteagle's documented history.
Monteagle sits on one of the narrowest portions of the Cumberland Plateau, which made it a natural crossing point long before the town existed. In 1870, John Moffat — an organizer in the temperance movement — purchased 1,146 acres of forest land on the plateau and named the settlement Moffat Station. Over time the name evolved through "Mount Eagle" and "Mounteagle" to its current spelling, Monteagle, by the time the town was officially incorporated in 1962.
The town's most enduring institution, the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, was chartered in 1882 and modeled on the Chautauqua Institution in New York. From 1932 to 1961, Monteagle was also home to the Highlander Folk School, a residential adult-education center founded by Myles Horton that trained two generations of labor and civil rights leaders.
- 1838 One of the last detachments of Cherokees forcibly removed to Oklahoma passes through the area on what becomes known as the Trail of Tears.
- 1870 John Moffat purchases 1,146 acres on the Cumberland Plateau and founds the settlement, originally called Moffat Station.
- October 31, 1882 The Monteagle Sunday School Assembly is chartered by the State of Tennessee, with Moffat and the Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company each providing $5,000 grants.
- 1883 The Assembly holds its first season; more than 1,000 people attend.
- 1932 Myles Horton, Don West, and James Dombrowski found the Highlander Folk School near Monteagle.
- 1955 Rosa Parks attends a workshop at Highlander, four months before her arrest in Montgomery sparks the bus boycott.
- 1961 The State of Tennessee revokes Highlander's charter and confiscates the property. The school later reorganizes as the Highlander Research and Education Center and relocates — first to Knoxville, then in 1971 to New Market, Tennessee.
- 1962 Monteagle is officially incorporated as a town.
- March 25, 1982 The Monteagle Sunday School Assembly Historic District is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Notable Places
Monteagle Sunday School Assembly
Chartered in 1882 and modeled on the Chautauqua Institution in New York, the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly (MSSA) is an interdenominational community founded for "the advancement of science, literary attainment, Sunday School interests, and the promotion of the broadest popular culture in the interest of Christianity without regard to sect or denomination." The grounds — a 100-acre historic district of late-Victorian summer cottages, an amphitheater, and shared common buildings — were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Many of the cottages have been in the same families for generations, and the Assembly continues to host an eight-week summer season of programs along with year-round retreats.
Highlander Folk School (Historic Site)
From 1932 to 1961, the Highlander Folk School operated on a mountainside campus near Monteagle as a residential adult-education center for labor organizing and, beginning in 1953, civil rights activism. Founders Myles Horton, Don West, and James Dombrowski created Highlander as one of the few places in the segregated South where integrated workshops could take place. Rosa Parks attended a workshop there in 1955, four months before her arrest in Montgomery; Martin Luther King Jr., Pete Seeger, John Lewis, Diane Nash, and Ralph Abernathy were also among those who taught or studied at Highlander. The school's charter was revoked by the State of Tennessee in 1961, and the organization later reorganized as the Highlander Research and Education Center, now based in New Market, Tennessee.
Monteagle Mountain
The stretch of Interstate 24 climbing across the Cumberland Plateau between Nashville and Chattanooga is known locally and to long-haul truckers as Monteagle Mountain. Its steep grade has been memorialized in country songs by Jerry Reed ("The Legend of Monteagle Mountain") and Johnny Cash ("Monteagle Mountain").
Visiting Monteagle
Practical information for travelers and day visitors.
Monteagle sits at the southern edge of the Cumberland Plateau on US-41, served directly by Interstate 24 exits 134 and 135. The town is about an hour northwest of Chattanooga and 90 minutes southeast of Nashville. Home to the historic Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, a walkable Main Street, and the chamber's offices, Monteagle is the most-traveled gateway to the plateau and to neighboring Sewanee.
Chamber Members in Monteagle
64 members of the South Cumberland Chamber of Commerce based in Monteagle, organized by category.
AUTOMOTIVE
Address:
508 Foresite Ave. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 924-8500
BEAUTY & PERSONAL CARE
Address:
15 S. Central Ave. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 924-7449
CHURCHES
Address:
186 Dundee St. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 924-2901
CONSTRUCTION & REMODELING
Address:
27 North Bluff Dr. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 743-4035
FINANCIAL SERVICES
FLORISTS
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Address:
10 W. Main St. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 924-3668
Address:
1045 W. Main St. Ste E • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 581-0170
Address:
507 Main St. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 636-5644
FUNERAL SERVICES
HEALTHCARE
Address:
165 Central Ave. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 924-2219
Address:
26 2nd St. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 392-3003
HOME SERVICES
INDIVIDUALS
Monteagle, TN
Monteagle, TN
Monteagle, TN
LAWYERS & LEGAL SERVICES
LODGING
Address:
1925 Trussell Rd. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(629) 243-9968
MUNICIPALITIES & PUBLIC SERVICE
NON-PROFITS
Address:
PO Box 816 • Sewanee, TN
Phone:
(931) 598-0267
Address:
186 Dundee St. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 924-2901
Address:
322 W. Main St. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 313-1663
PRINTING & GRAPHIC DESIGN
REAL ESTATE
Address:
91 University Ave. (PO Box 234) • Sewanee, TN
Phone:
(423) 838-8201
RECREATION
Address:
808 Trussell Rd. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 637-6590
RETAIL & GROCERIES
Address:
903 W. Main St. • Monteagle, TN
Phone:
(931) 924-4100
SCHOOLS
Address:
735 University Ave. • Sewanee, TN 37383
Phone:
(931) 598-1000