NEW FEDERAL AREAS

CUMBERLAND GAP ORGANIZATION COMPLETED

The third of a series of organization meetings, which was held this month at Knoxville, Tennessee, places upon a permanent basis the new Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Association, formed by a tri-state group of leading citizens to promote establishment of the proposed National Historical Park and the proposed National Recreational Area situated in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Similar conferences had been held at Lexington, Kentucky, on October 26, and at Bristol, Virginia, on November 18, in accordance with plans made at a preliminary meeting of conferees at Harrogate, Tennessee, on August 27.

A president, three vice presidents, a secretary-treasurer and 12 directors compose the executive organization. They are:

Director Cammerer, in a memorandum transmitted this month to Secretary Ickes, described Cumberland Gap as one of the outstanding historic sites of the nation. "It is of prime importance," he said, "as the connecting link between old historic sites of the middle Atlantic States and the historic areas west of the Appalachian mountains. While Cumberland Gap was of some significance during the War Between the States, its prime importance came from the numerous pioneers who passed through the Gap to claim the Northwest Territory for the United States. The scenery of the area is good, and there is an opportunity to develop recreational facilities to serve a large population."

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C. & O. CANAL WORK TO BE SPEEDED

Funds already made available through the Public Works Administration will permit the Service to carry forward a restoration and development program designed to prepare a section of the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal for early recreational use by the public. Repairs to the banks, locks and dams between Seneca and Little Falls, a distance of 18 miles, will make usable the 22-mile area which reaches from Seneca to Georgetown.