Cumberland Falls State Resort Park

The area now known as Cumberland Falls State Resort Park has long been a popular destination for tourists. As the largest falls south of Niagra and east of the Rocky Mountains, it has been nicknamed the “Niagra of the South.” The falls are 55 feet high and span 124 feet wide. The park also features Eagle Falls, just across the river from the park’s visitor’s center.  

One of the earliest accounts of the falls comes from Dr. Thomas Walker in 1750. Walker gave the falls their name in honor of the Duke of Cumberland. A number of other explorers visited the falls as the region was developed by settlers. Within 50 years of Dr. Walker’s visit to the falls, the site had begun to be visited by those interested in seeing the falls and the famous moonbow.  

The moonbow appears only during the full moon. Also known as a lunar rainbow, a moonbow is produced when the light from the moon hits the mist from the falls. The moonbow at Cumberland Falls is the only regularly appearing moonbow in the entire western hemisphere. The park is open 24 hours a day so that those interested in seeing the moonbow can view it. There are viewing locations near the visitor’s center and along the nearly 11-mile Moonbow Trail.  

The Renfro family purchased 400 acres near the falls around 1850. They built the first tourism business at the falls, beginning with a two-room structure and eventually expanding. The Renfro’s built a reputation as a sort of health resort and would even host healing soldiers during and following the Civil War.  

 In 1874, Richard Henry Collins described the falls in his History of Kentucky. Collins mentioned that in the 1850s rumors circulated that there was silver at Cumberland Falls which drew many investors. The Renfro family were among those drawn into the scam and lost so much money due to the bad investment that they sold their land in 1875. The site’s new owner, Socrates Owens would build the original Cumberland Falls Hotel on the Renfro’s land. The hotel changed hands several times and underwent a number of expansions.  

In 1927, T. Coleman DuPont (also spelled du Pont) purchased the land from the Cumberland River Power Company to protect the landscape. DuPont was a Kentucky-native who was involved in a variety of businesses in the region including manufacturing, coal, and hotels. Additionally, DuPont served in the US Senate from 1925 to 1928. It was DuPont’s widow who donated the land to the commonwealth to be made into a state park in 1931.  

In 1933 the lodge at the park was built which bears the DuPont name in honor of the family’s donation. This facility underwent renovations in 2006. Today, visitors can also enjoying camping, restaurants, horseback riding, and rafting among a number of other activities. The park features 17 miles of trails, several of which connect to other areas of the Daniel Boone National Forest.  

Belles, Jonathan. The Science Behind Moonbows, or Rainbows Seen at Night, The Weather Channel. January 19th 2019. Accessed October 4th 2020. https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/science-behind-lunar-rainbow-moonbow.

Collins, Lewis. Collins, Richard Henry. History of Kentucky. Volume 2. Clearfield Company, 1874.

du PONT, Thomas Coleman (1863-1930), Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed October 4th 2020. https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=D000560.

Hiking the Moonbow Trail at Cumberland Falls, Kentucky Tourism. Accessed October 4th 2020. https://www.kentuckytourism.com/hiking-the-moonbow-trail-at-cumberland-falls.

McGrain, Preston. Geology of the Cumberland Falls State Park Area. Kentucky Geological Survey, no. 7. Published 1955.

White, Mark. If not for DuPont in the 1920’s, Cumberland Falls might have been eliminated to make hydro-electric dam, News Journal. October 2nd 2018. Accessed October 4th 2020. https://www.thenewsjournal.net/if-not-for-dupont-in-the-1920s-cumberland-falls-might-have-been-eliminated-to-make-hydro-electric-dam/.