Sometimes people come to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and they aren’t hikers. They ask what they can drive to. The Pinnacle is the first place we send them, but the second place is the Iron Furnace. The Iron Furnace is the oldest man-made structure in the park. It is located in the town of …
From National Parks
First Visitors to Cumberland Gap
Last week we had our first visitors to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Although we have hundreds of visitors every day in the park, these visitors were special to us: Eric and Sandy Shaw; Steve, Amy, and Emma Winstead; Bob Walliser, Megan Spade and Cheryl Giddens. This group was the core of our Boy Scout …
Juneteenth and the Enslaved People of Kentucky
We recently celebrated Juneteenth in a special living history event at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. We had a great weekend being outside and interacting with visitors. For me, however, celebrating Juneteenth in Kentucky was a little problematic. Juneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Major …
Processing Flax from Plant to Linen
I have been practicing processing flax during my time here at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. My focus in doing Colonial Living History is textiles and I have a detailed talk from my time at Fort Frederica. But here at Cumberland Gap I have been able to do some hands on experimenting in processing flax. …
Dulcimer Gathering at Cumberland Gap
The Dulcimer Gathering at Cumberland Gap was held the first week that Tom and I were working at the park. It was a delightful introduction to the park programs and gave us another way to meet and interact with folks. Volunteer Julie, of course, was the one who told us about the Dulcimer Gathering and …
The Pinnacle at Cumberland Gap NHP
The #1 thing that people want to see when they come to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is the Pinnacle. Who wouldn’t want to see the Pinnacle – it is the top thing! As part of our training we had to get thoroughly acquainted to the Pinnacle – able to tell how to get there …
Hensley Settlement in Cumberland Gap NHP
Tom and I had the opportunity to tour Hensley Settlement in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park on our second day of orientation. All the new rangers had to take driving training in order to lead tours a Hensley Settlement. Why driving training? Because the road to Hensley Settlement is up a mountain road requiring a …
Oriented to Cumberland Gap NHP
Tom and I have been working at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park for two weeks now and we are getting oriented to the park and how it operates. Some places we’ve worked had formal orientation training (Fort Union Trading Post, Pipe Spring, San Juan Island, Grand Portage). Others are more informal. Cumberland Gap’s orientation program …
Three States Before 9 a.m.
Because we are living in the Wilderness Road Campground, Tom and I have to drive through three states in order to get to work. We have to report to work at 8:30, which means that we have driven through three states before 9 a.m. Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is located at the conjunction of …
Wilderness Road Campground at Cumberland Gap
During our four months at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Tom and I will be staying at the Wilderness Road Campground. We have never stayed in a park campground at the places where we worked before. The closest we got was the Paiute campground next to Pipe Springs. The Wilderness Road Campground has 154 sites …