Crossville established its first school, a one-room structure with a single teacher and approximately 50 students, in the late 19th century at Bryant's Chapel Church. The first banking institution was established in 1914 by N.W. Black and Boyce Rains. Soon after, Crossville was granted provisional incorporation, and Charlie J. Crump was appointed first mayor. Little progress was made during his tenure, and the incorporation's dissolution followed quickly thereafter. The town was incorporated a second time on December 21, 1942. Dr. Luther F. Erwin was chosen mayor, and the town government established ordinances and levied privilege licenses. Collection enforcement was lax, however, resulting in insufficient resources to maintain basic town services. Following this, C.W. (Bill) Russell was elected mayor. He hired Colonel Mack Kilcrease as a legal adviser to mayor and council. This group worked together to establish a solid town government with taxation, collection and basic town services that would become the foundation for the Town of Crossville.