Please join us on Saturday January 28, 2012 at 2pm at the Fort Loudoun State Historic Area Auditorium. Admission is Free.

The Cumberland Gap Remains a Virtual Passageway to America’s Hopes and Dreams please join speaker Pam Eddy on the exploration throughout the centuries, the great mountain passageway known as Cumberland Gap served as a common doorway to the dreams of an uncommon people. 

Native American warriors, countless slaves, entrepreneurs and explorers, illiterate and learned, poor and rich, the famous and forgotten – all of these descriptions illuminate those who ventured through the Gap in search of their destiny.   

Today their stories and the historic Cumberland Gap are preserved in a premier national historical park that no longer is just a passageway but justifiably an American destination.  With opportunities to stare into the face of history and walk in the footsteps of Daniel Boone and nearly 300,000 of our westward-moving ancestors, the park hosts close to a million visitors a year.  Hiking almost 85 miles of trails, with some being the most historic thoroughfares in the nation, visitors are mesmerized with the layers of history and the depth of natural beauty within this unique American jewel. 

The park offers history on several levels, that of the 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th century through the Warriors Path, Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Road, Civil War fortifications, the Hensley Settlement abandoned mountain community and more.  Indoor and outdoor exhibits including two films, underground explorations of Gap Cave, and mountaintop vistas of incomparable beauty complete an opportunity to explore the very heart and soul of America. 

Cumberland Gap is a veritable study of our nation.  Visit, and acquire solace as you escape into a forest of tranquil wilderness, become inspired by breathtaking mountain beauty, and recall your rightful and common membership as both caretaker and recipient of America’s greatest natural landscapes and historical venues preserved in our most “uncommon” national parks.

Biography for Pamela Eddy, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Lead Historical Ranger Pamela Eddy is definitely a woman of the past.  In 1965 at just 5 years of age, Pamela and her family undertook a journey across America from Florida to Alaska.  Their journey took them to many of our country’s historic sites and national parks where she saw up close lunch grabbing grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park, a whale who sailed into the sky near their small fishing boat, abandoned gold miners’ shacks in Alaska and enjoyed a childhood’s dream full of adventures (some could have been life threatening).  For sure, the trip was life altering as along the way she started to dream of who she could grow up to be and how she might become part of the many exciting places and stories belonging to America!   Realizing her dream of becoming a park ranger for the National Park Service, she has the opportunity to revel in the glory of nature and occasionally “time travel” to bring a voice to participants in the American saga of the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th centuries! 

Shake off those winter doldrums by joining us at the Fort Loudoun State Historic Area for the 2012 Winter Lecture Series.

This very popular series features presentations by fascinating speakers on Saturdays at 2pm.  These knowledgeable lecturers address a wide range of topics related to history.

All lectures are held in the climate controlled Fort Loudoun State Historic Area Auditorium inside the Visitor Center.  Admission is FREE. For more information call 423-884-6217.