John Knowles Charles first settled near these springs. Isaac J. and Jane Knight Tucker Higgins moved to the area and settled across the road from the Charles homestead.
The town lots here were either given away or sold for a very small fee, since the settlers of this era had little hard cash. Other families to move to Cascade Springs were Alexander George Wilson, George Casey, the John Harris family, Robert F. Brady and James Monroe Brady. Other families in the vicinity include the Brantleys, Bennetts, Everetts, Stokers, Loyds, Wards, and others.
Constantine Flippin operated a saloon at Cascade Springs. Jan 4, 1882 the local residents filed a formal petition with the county court for the removal of this saloon under the three-mile rule. It was so ordered April 7, 1882. The church in this case was the Methodist church at Pleasant Valley, which was about a mile north in Section Seventeen, T 6 N, R 11 W.
Cascade Springs had its peak several stores and a blacksmith shop. A post office was opened here, but later was moved to Naylor. A Dr. Stewart operated his drugstore here, while Dr. M.E. Jones had a general merchandise business, as did J.E. Stanley. Other merchants were George Casey and James Henry.
In 1887 George Wilson served as major of this tiny town. In July 1887, an item in the Log Cabin related "within three miles of Cascade there are being taught five schools under the supervision of Horace Knowlton at Cascade, J.R. Giddings at Liberty, W.R. Casey at Pleasant Valley, Floyd Campbell at White Oak and John Hugh Reynolds at Stony Point."
In the summers at Cascade Springs, a Confederate reunion was held with settlers for miles around coming to camp for two or three days and nights. A dance pavilion was erected here with old time fiddlers to play for the evening dancing. Indeed, they often danced all night.
Cascade College opened Feb. 24, 1885 in a new, elegant and commodious building just erected for that purpose. T.T. Hardy of Summerville, Tenn., was the principal. The youngsters of this area walked in from two to five miles over the various hills. Some of his students were John Hugh Reynolds, J.B. Higgins, Constantine Flippen, Ella Higgins, the Naylor children, the Connells and the Maddoxes."
