By Stephen Bowling

September 7, 1931 – Kentucky highway officials formally opened the state roadway between Corbin and Cumberland Falls State Park in a ceremony attended by thousands on September 7, 1931.  The newly “modernized” road, estimated to cost $166,000, was an eighteen-mile stretch designed to make travel to the new state park easier for tourists. 

Constructed started in late February 1931 and was completed by the Phelps Construction Company in less than nine months using funds “saved from efficiency and good management” on other state projects and bridges.  Officially designated the Coleman du Pont Highway, the roadway was improved from the original single-lane Kiwanis Trail carved through the thick woods and over steep terrain by the local Kiwanis Club to improve tourism.

An official proclamation by the states read at the dedication thanked the du Pont family and honored Senator Thomas Coleman du Pont, who agreed to donate $230,000 to the state to purchase the falls and save the area from being destroyed by a commercial power plant.  Senator du Pont died before the arrangement was completed, and his widow and children honored his commitment with a $170,00 donation.

More than 10,000 spectators joined the state and local officials in a small grove of trees near the start of the du Pont Highway.  A band of more than 100 local schoolchildren played several songs. 

Kentucky Highway Commissioner Ben Johnson delivered the keynote address and recalled his first trip to Cumberland Falls in 1872.  His speech was full of gratitude and appreciation for many who had helped build the roadway.    

After his speech, Johnson unlocked a “huge lock” and swung open a set of gates constructed across the roadway.  He climbed into Wade Candler’s old Ford and was a passenger in the first vehicle to officially pass over the new highway.  The car had a unique past. 

The original roadway was constructed in the spring and summer of 1927 by the Corbin Kiwanis Club as a “fair-weather road.”  Many miles of the roadway were dug by hand by businessmen who volunteered their time.  Tom Gallagher, I.O. Chitwood, Robert Blair, and Wade Candler managed to drive the first vehicle to Cumberland Falls on July 10, 1927, with great difficulty.    

Work continued on the roadway, and on September 22, 1927, Governor William J. Fields drove the golden spike in the Candler log bridge and declared the completed Kiwanis Trail open to traffic.  During the next three years, hundreds braved the single-track roadway with its many hazards and deep mud puddles to visit the Falls. 

After swinging open the gates, Commissioner Johnson climbed in the same car that made the first trip. He and the men who made the original trip retraced the route on the new roadway.  

The most prominent feature of the new roadway dedicated in 1931 was a new “dry-land” concrete bridge.  The 236-foot span replaced the “old and rickety wooden bridge” constructed in 1927 to bridge a “nick” missing in the rock along the spine of the ridge.     

Millions have traveled the roadway since then, and many improvements have been made.  The road was extended twelve miles to US 27 at Parker’s Lake, and the ferry crossing just above the Falls was replaced by the Gatliff Bridge in 1954. 

The highway, now called the Cumberland Falls Highway and designated as Kentucky Highway 90, opened the door to the wonders of the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.

© 2024 Stephen D. Bowling