Cumberland Falls State Park Favorites

Favorite thing: Along the paved walkway leading to Cumberland Falls you will see this monument to T. Coleman duPont of Louisville, KY. In 1932 duPont purchased the land which is today Cumberland Falls State Park and gave it to the state of Kentucky. His gift was initially rejected by the then governor of Kentucky for political reasons, and only after duPont's death was the land accepted when offered again by duPont's heirs, but still not without some opposition in the legilature. Politics stinks.

T. Coleman duPont was a part of the wealthy and prominent duPont family of Delaware, who made their fortune in the chemical industry.

T. Coleman duPont

Favorite thing: Many of the amenities you will see at Cumberland Falls State Park are there due to the hard work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, CCC, in the 1930s. This includes DuPont Lodge, cabins, hiking trails, and this historic shelter overlooking the Cumberland River gorge below the falls. The shelter may be reached by a short but steep side trail off the Eagle Falls Trail, about 1/2 mile from the trail head.

The CCC was a work project designed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to put idle young men to work and help lift the country out of the Great Depression. Hundreds of thousands of men were employed on public lands throughout the country, including 80,000 Kentuckians. Three camps of the CCC were located here to help develop Cumberland Falls State Park. For their labor they were paid room, board and $30 per month. Of this they kept $5 for themselves, and the rest was sent home to support their families.