Erasmus Community Returns To Life

A local resident working to restore knowledge of the Erasmus community, a Cumberland County area that has faded into history.

Erasmus founded in 1870, named after Erasmus Darwin Ashly. The community located in southeast Cumberland County. Real McCoy Farms’ Owner Vance McCoy said as he and his wife discovered their facility was located in Erasmus. McCoy said uncovering factual history about their land and community lead him to want to share it with others related to Erasmus’ past.

“The excitement continues to grow, to even find documents that in World War One, we had seven or eight servicemen entering World War One with their home town as Erasmus Tennessee,” McCoy said.

McCoy said since sharing what he knows about Erasmus, more people with familial ties to the community are beginning to come out of the woodworks and share their own stories about Erasmus, rebuilding its history.

“History of some of the older people of our age are starting to come forth with amazing information and documents about Erasmus,” McCoy said. “We had a lady that sent us some information about her father who attended the Flatrock School.”

Real McCoy Farms will hosting an Erasmus Community Celebration Saturday. McCoy said he is excited about bringing in people from the entire region, hearing everyone’s stories, and reconnecting on the land that was once Erasmus.

“The Erasmus Community Day event is really to bring together the community of Erasmus, Flat Rock, Clifty, Todd Town, Eastland, Burgess Town, all these surrounding areas…and start connecting the dots of families and how we have progressed over the decades to where a great grandchild might come out on this Saturday event and say ‘that was my papaw or that was my mee-maw’,” McCoy said.

The day long event will have a kids cornhole tournament, live music, food trucks, bounce houses, antique vehicles and tractors, and a history hour.