What Is Cumberland Gap National Historical Park?
This park preserves a historically important gap in the Cumberland Mountains!
What Makes It Historical?
You could divide the history of the Cumberland Gap into at least three sections! Since time immemorial, bison have used this mountain gap to access salt licks, and generations of Cherokee and Shawnee hunted here on a path the Shawnee called Athiamiowee!
Though the gap was first written about by Abraham Wood in the 1670s, the Gap didn’t get its modern name until 80 years later when the Loyal Land Company sent Thomas Walker to survey the area. Here, he gave a toast to the health of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, and the name stuck fast! 25 years later, the Transylvania Company hired Daniel Boone to set up a road through the Gap, which by 1790 was big enough for wagons! This Wilderness Road opened up Kentucky and the greater West for over 300,000 settlers before 1810!
Being the gateway to Kentucky and the Ohio Valley, the Cumberland Gap traded hands several times during the Civil War, first captured by the Union in 1862 then taken by the Confederates during their disastrous invasion of Kentucky. Ultimately, the Union retook the Gap in 1863, but no further battles took place here because the terrain was super rough and the Confederacy had given up on Kentucky! Today, remnants of these stages of history can all be found in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, visited by over a million people annually!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park!
- Donate to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park!
- Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!
How Do I Get There?
91 Bartlett Park Road
Middlesboro, KY 40965
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit the Park?
The visitor center is open daily from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM, except on federal holidays, while the park is open all day!
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