hull-york lakeland

Hull-York Lakeland Resource Conservation and Development Council is a non-profit 501c(3) organization that provides coordinated resource conservation and rural development assistance throughout rural America.  This is done by partnering with communities, local governments, and grass-roots organizations to develop and implement solutions to widespread problems and to develop opportunities that will help sustain rural communities, local economies, and natural resources.

 

The Hull-York Lakeland RC&D project area was approved in 1965 under the authority of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962, Public Law 87–703 and consists of a board of directors who work to provide coordinated resource conservation and rural development assistance throughout the 14 county area of the upper Cumberland region of Tennessee.  It is named in honor of  two great Tennesseans who were born and raised in the Upper Cumberlands of the Volunteer state.

 

Cordell Hull was born in a log cabin, which may still be seen at Star Point in Pickett County.  A member of the Tennessee General Assembly at the age of 21, he later served in the Spanish-American War, practiced law in Clay County and spent 24 years in the Congress of the United States. He served as U.S. Secretary of State for 12 years. His efforts on behalf of the United Nations brought him the Nobel Peace Prize. He often referred to his boyhood experiences in the Upper Cumberlands. He died on July 23, 1955, in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

Alvin C. York was reared at Pall Mall in Fentress County. He was of military age when the U. S. entered World War I, and was drafted into the Army in 1917. In the Argonne Forest he and a small detail of men came under fire from a German force.  When the fighting was over the survivors of his detail said that they had not fired a shot. York killed each of the 20 men at which he had fired, and captured the 132 surviving Germans. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor and other decorations for his exploit. In later years, he devoted much of his time and income to the improvement of educational opportunities for the young people of the area. He died on September 2, 1964, and is buried in the Wolf River Cemetery near his home in Pall Mall, Tennessee.

 

The Lakeland portion of the project name is derived from the fact that within the boundaries of the project lie a number of man-made lakes including Dale Hollow, Cordell Hull, and Center Hill.  These lakes contribute greatly to the area's economy and future for potential development.