Mammoth Cave Historic District: Cultural Landscape Report, Mammoth Cave National Park, National Park Service
Liz Sargent HLA, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Panamerican Consultants, Inc.. 2021. Mammoth Cave Historic District: Cultural Landscape Report, Mammoth Cave National Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscape Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Atlanta, Georgia
Mammoth Cave National Park is located in south-central Kentucky midway between Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee. Mammoth Cave was established as a national park on July 1, 1941, for the purpose of preserving the extensive system of underground passages and formations that had long been the object of exploration, scientific research, and tourism. Today, at a length of at least 412 miles, the system of passages documented within Mammoth Cave is considered to be the longest in the world. The importance of Mammoth Cave has been recognized through its designation as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site on October 27, 1981, and as part of an International Biosphere Reserve on September 26, 1990. Much of the area that has been the focus of tourism and other historic period cultural use is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Mammoth Cave Historic District. More than two million people visit Mammoth Cave National Park each year, with approximately 500,000 of them participating in a tour of the cave. Since the early nineteenth century, the individuals and organizations involved in accommodating visitors to the cave have created systems of trails, stairs, bridges, overlooks, and gathering spaces to facilitate access. The earliest visitors, led by enslaved guides, experienced the cave with only the aid of grease- or oil-fueled lanterns. They followed relatively narrow trails littered with uncleared rocks and rubble in some places, and sometimes wet or muddy in others. Where the trail edged steep slopes or drop-offs, wooden handrails were sometimes provided, while wooden bridges and wood or stone stairs were used to span pits and chasms. Many of the early trails were improved upon during the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), work that entailed moving a tremendous amount of rock and soil to create a more stable systems of paths, stairs, walls, causeways, and handrails and guardrails through toured sections of Mammoth Cave. Additional improvements were made during the 1950s and 1960s as part of the federally funded Mission 66 program, including walls, stairs, an elevator, handrails and guardrails, seating, electrical system upgrades, restroom facilities, a dining area, and drinking fountains. To address the impact of proposed access upgrades and other management concerns associated with the Mammoth Cave Historic District, the NPS engaged a consultant team of preservation professionals to prepare this Cultural Landscape Report (CLR). The team was led by Panamerican Consultants, Inc., Buffalo, New York, and included Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE), Northbrook, Illinois, and Liz Sargent Historic Landscape Architect (HLA) of Charlottesville, Virginia. The management guidance provided in this CLR is based on detailed documentation of historic and existing conditions, the identification of character-defining features, National Register significance evaluation and integrity assessment, and treatment guidelines and recommendations designed to address the specific needs and concerns of the NPS related to the Mammoth Cave Historic District.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Liz Sargent HLA; Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.; Panamerican Consultants, Inc.
- Date of Issue
- 2021
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- MACA , SER
- Keywords
- Cave, Croghan, Karst, Kentucky, Mammoth Cave, Stephen Bishop
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Cave/Karst Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Human Use | Cultural Landscapes | Cultural Landscapes , CRIS-CL: 976062: Core Visitor Services Area , CRIS-CL: 976066: Historic Core Landscape , CRIS-CL: 976064: Historic Entrance and Old Guide's Cemetery , CRIS-CL: 550030: Mammoth Cave CCC-era Landscape , CRIS-CL: 976072: Mammoth Cave Hotel and Lodging , CRIS-CL: 976068: Picnic Area and Woodland Cottages , CRIS-CL: 976076: Trails, Traces, Roads, Ferry Crossings and Cave Entrances , CRIS-CL: 976074: Visitor Center Complex