Vanleer & Cumberland Real Estate

Vanleer & Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee. Vanleer & Cumberland Furnace have a combined population of over 800. Along with the neighboring community of Slayden there are over one thousand people living in the Vanleer/Cumberland Furnace/Slayden region. Because of their size and how close they are to one another, Vanleer, Cumberland Furnace and Slayden are often considered interconnecting communities.

Anyone interested in moving away from the hustle and bustle of the big city streets and small town traffic woes can find their answer in one of these smaller Dickson County communities. The rolling hills to the north offer some of the county's most beautiful landscape, where hunters can find turkeys, deer, rabbit, squirrel, foxes and more. There is land set aside for hunters, no matter what hunting season there is, from deer season to duck season, all your hunting needs will be accommodated.

In 1825, Anthony Wayne Van Leer purchased Cumberland Furnace, an early iron works community, from Montgomery Bell. His granddaughter, Florence Drouillard, built the mansion that is visible on the hill in Cumberland Furnace.

Vanleer was incorporated in 1915. It was located on a railroad that ran from Pond Switch to Gracie, Ky. The railroad passed through several of the communities of the area, including Sylvia, Vanleer and Slayden, and there was a spur at Cumberland Furnace to pick up iron ore.

One of the earliest enterprises of Vanleer was the shipment of ripened peaches by iced rail car to New York, Cincinnati and other northern cities. The peaches were grown in a 60-acre orchard owned by Messrs. Trahern, Outlaw and Eubanks. Norman Eubanks eventually organized the Peoples Bank of Vanleer in 1906.

Slayden was named for the prominent Slayden family that resided in the Cumberland Furnace and Woods Valley area of Dickson County. Dr. John Slayden served for a period of time as a physician at Cumberland Furnace. The community was incorporated in 1913 and was Tennessee’s smallest municipality for many years.

Organized at the intersection of the railroad and the Charlotte to Palmyra road, the community’s citizens were primarily engaged in the timber business. Huge stands of white oaks provided cross-ties for the railroad and the oaks and other hardwoods provided raw materials used in the iron industry which was thriving in nearby Cumberland Furnace. The leading businessman of Slayden was Robert H. McFall who owned a general store, the Slayden Bank and was noted for his acquisitions of timber from Lone Oak in Montgomery County to Sparta in White County.

The railroad ceased operations in the 1930s and the town functions as a residential center for the northwest corner of Dickson County.

Vanleer & Cumberland, Tennessee Demographic Information