Park Archives: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

From Alabama to Canada the Appalachian Mountains rise in a series of parallel ridges between the eastern seaboard and the continent's interior. If you were heading west in the days of travel by horse, boat, or your own two feet, crossing points were few and far between.

Mid-18th century explorers following well-worn bison and American Indian trails found their way through at Cumberland Gap. Their discovery opened the Ohio Valley to the first great wave of westward migration. Today at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park you can walk in the footsteps of yesterday's travelers—men, women, and children propelled by dreams and determination.

The route through the gap was first brought to widespread attention by Dr. Thomas Walker, who had been hired to stake out an 800,000-acre grant beyond the Blue Ridge. In 1775 a longhunter named Daniel Boone was commissioned to blaze a road through the gap. Boone's trace evolved into the Wilderness Road, establishing his place in history as a frontiersman and pathfinder.

Settlers immediately flooded into the Ohio Valley. Less than a decade after the end of the Revolutionary War, Kentucky became the 15th state. Though other routes were used, the Wilderness Road through Cumberland Gap was the primary way to the West until 1810.

In the 1790s traffic on the Wilderness Road increased. In the years 1780-1810 between 200,000 and 300,000 people crossed the gap heading west. There was eastbound trade traffic as well: crops, corn whiskey, and herds of livestock.

With a nation that now spanned the continent, long-distance transportation quickly improved in the first half of the 19th century. Canals, railroads, and well-engineered wagon roads crossed the Appalachians. Cumberland Gap declined in importance. Then during the Civil War both sides considered the gap strategic. By the end of the war the gap had charged hands several times, yet it saw no major action.

In the 20th century, Cumberland Gap (and its associated roadways) continued to be a major economic artery for the Appalachian region. When Cumberland Gap National Historical Park was authorized by Congress in 1940, U.S. 25E, a major paved highway, passed through the gap, compromising the historic scene known to Indians and early settlers. To restore the historic landscape the highway was rerouted through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, which opened in 1996. Over the next years the gap area was restored to the way it looked around 1810. Today you can see and experience the natural beauty of Appalachian mountain country.

Long before humans came here, elk and deer in search of food trampled a path through the gap. For American Indians the gap was a vital pass to hunting grounds in what would later be Kentucky. It was also the key pass on the Athawominee ("path of the armed ones"), or the Warrior's Path, the trail of trade and war.

Cumberland Gap is one of the very few natural corridors through the Appalachian Mountains. When Americans started migrating westward in the 1770s, the primary route was southwest via Virginia's Great Valley Road, through Cumberland Gap, north through The Narrows (Pineville, Ken.) and into the Kentucky Bluegrass country and the Ohio River Valley.

1750
Gap explored by Dr. Thomas Walker and five companions. Hunting parties use gap passage thereafter.

1775
Boone and others blaze Wilderness Road through gap, opening Kentucky lands to settlers.

1776-1810
200,000 to 300,000 settlers cross Cumberland Gap into Ohio Valley.

1800
The Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap became a two-way thoroughfare. As the stream of settlers moved west, thousands of cattle, sheep, pigs, and turkeys—along with corn whiskey—from western farms traveled east to the seaboard markets.

1806
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark pass through gap (separately) on the return leg of their expedition.

1830s and 40s
Wilderness Road declines in importance as canals and railroads improve east-west travel elsewhere.

1861-65
Considered strategic by both sides during the Civil War, gap changes hands several times but sees no major action.

1864
Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, inspecting garrison, titles Cumberland Gap the "Gibraltar of America."

1908
Federal government completes Object Lesson Road, a project demonstrating modern road-building methods.

1940
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park authorized by Congress; established 1955.

Dr. Thomas Walker, surveyor for the Loyal Land Company, became the first white man to explore, describe, and document the route to the gap. Walker's 1750 account describes things we can see today such as the entrance of the present Gap Cave, the spring emanating from it, and the Indian road Walker followed. "This Gap may be seen at a considerable distance," he wrote, "and there is no other, that I know of, except one about two miles to the North of it, which does not appear to be so low as the other."

No name is more associated with Cumberland Gap and the opening of the West than Daniel Boone's. Born near Reading, Pa., in 1734, Boone became renowned as a hunter and rifleman. In 1775 the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals secured a large portion of the Kentucky country from the Cherokees. That year Boone and 30 men marked out the Wilderness Trail from Long Island on the Holston River (Kingsport, Tenn.) through Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. There he founded Boonesborough and eventually held several positions in local government.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park introduces you to faces and places from the era of westward migration. You are invited to join in the park's campfire programs, hikes, walks, music and craft demonstrations, tours of Hensley Settlement (a historic Appalachian community), and other activities scheduled throughout the year.

Begin at the visitor center where you will find an information desk, exhibits, orientation and history films, and book and map sales. Cumberland Crafts sells works by Southern Highland Craft Guild members. Guild artists and artisans give demonstrations,

From the visitor center you can drive a winding four-mile-long road up the mountain to the Pinnacle Overlook (elevation 2,440 feet) for a spectacular view into the three states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Fern Lake occupies one of the many valleys in this region dominated by mountain ridges.

Drive or hike to Pinnacle Overlook for a spectacular view of three states—Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Many of the park's most interesting features, like Skylight Cave, are reached only by trail. The park maintains some 70 miles of trails, ranging from 0.25-mile to 21 miles.

Here you are in the heart of Southern Appalachian Mountains habitat which includes ferns and the spring blooms of the trillium .

Gap Cave (formerly Cudjo's Cave) is open to visitors by ranger-led tour only. Look for cave crickets, bats, salamanders, and a large variety of cave formations.

White Rocks, at the eastern tip of the park atop Cumberland Mountain, is accessible via the Ridge Trail or trail from Civic Park.

Hensley Settlement is the early 20th-century homestead of the Hensley and Gibbons families. A ranger-led tour takes you through original buildings and farmland.

From I-75 in Kentucky, exit onto 25E at Corbin and go south 50 miles to park entrance. From I-81 in Tennessee exit onto 25E at Morristown and go 50 miles north. From U.S. 58 in Virginia go west to the intersection with 25E. The park gates are open 8 a.m. to dusk year-round. The visitor center, on U.S. 25E, 0.25 mile south of Middlesboro, is open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; visitor center is closed December 25.

Trails Almost 70 miles of hiking trails wind through eastern deciduous forest in this 20,000-acre national park. Distances range from a 0.25-mile loop trail to the 21-mile-long Ridge Trail. Maps of trails open to horse use are available at the visitor center.

Hensley Settlement Go home to the mountains! The 3½-hour tour includes a one-mile walk through the settlement, so wear comfortable shoes and bring a light snack. Reservations recommended; fee.

Gap Cave Tours Join park rangers on an exciting two-hour adventure exploring this majestic underground cathedral. The one-mile tour includes three levels of the cave via 183 steps. For the safety of all, no children under the age of five are permitted. Reservations recommended; fee.

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

1956		1959		1960
1965		1969	1971	1975
1978		cover only 1979		cover only 1982-1988
1989-1996		1997-2005		cover only 2005-2019

Greenleaf Trail Guide Date Unknown		Hiking and Backcountry Camping Date Unknown		Horseback Riding Date Unknown
Wilderness Road Campground Date Unknown		Appalachian Mountain Struggle Date Unknown		The Pinnacle Date Unknown
Wildflower Guide for the Wilderness Road Campground and Vicinity March 16, 2007		Wilderness Road Campground Date Unknown		Wilderness Road Campground Date Unknown
Hiking and Camping Date Unknown		Hiking and Camping Date Unknown		Hiking and Camping Date Unknown
Safety in Bear Country Date Unknown	The Iron Industry and Cumberland Gap Date Unknown	Wilderness Road Trail and Early 19th Century Iron Works Date Unknown		Wilderness Road Area Trails Date Unknown
Events 2000	The Encampment of the Severed Union April-29, 2000	Appalachian Reflections May 26-28, 2000	Schedule of Events 2008		Interpretive Program Summer 1971
Ranger Guided Activities 2003		Cumberland Gap Tunnel Date Unknown	The Cumberland Gap Tunnel Pioneering A New Route To the Past 1997	The Cumberland Gap Tunnel Pioneering A New Route To the Past 2001
Wilderness Road State Park Date Unknown
Trading Cards
		(©Jefferson National Parks Association)

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
William W. Luckett
1964

cover only

Images of America: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Martha Evans Wiley
2014