Will Cummings, county judge of Hamilton County, was recognized for rare vision, indomitable courage, and capacity for achievement as a pioneer of permanent road building and public improvements in east Tennessee and the Chattanooga district. In 1931, the Tennessee state legislature, by joint resolution, designated this highway the Will Cummings Highway. The route extends from Chattanooga to Jasper, passing under Lookout Mountain, the site of the Battle Above the Clouds, above Moccasin Bend, through Wauhatchie Valley, and along the Tennessee River. Every foot of this scenic route was bitterly contested and fought over by Federal and Confederate armies during the War Between the States.