The Tazewell County town of Cedar Bluff thrived commercially in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a milling center, benefiting from its location at the falls of the Clinch River on the mid-19th-century Tazewell Courthouse and Richlands Turnpike, now known as the Old Kentucky Turnpike. The Old Kentucky Turnpike Historic District consists of an interesting and varied collection of primarily vernacular houses along the course of the turnpike. Among the most significant buildings are the Clinch Valley Roller Mills and the McGuire-Peery House, birthplace and childhood home of Virginia governor George C. Peery (1872-1952). Several of the more ornate late-19th-century structures, decorated with two-level porches and sawnwork detailing, are attributed to the local builder, Thomas McChesney Cubine. A conspicuous landmark in the Old Kentucky Turnpike Historic District is the 1874 Cedar Bluff High School (shown), situated atop a hill overlooking the core of the district.