Mammoth Cave marks National Park Week with focus on site’s history

Mammoth Cave marks National Park Week with focus on site’s history

Park highlights thousands of years of history during nationwide celebration

What This Story Is About

- Mammoth Cave National Park is participating in National Park Week under the theme “Celebrate America’s Story,” marking 110 years since the creation of the National Park Service and the 250th anniversary of the United States. Jessie Cooper, a parks spokesperson with the National Park Service, discussed the cave’s history, including Native American exploration dating back thousands of years, its rise as a tourist destination, and its designation as a national park in 1941.

Why It Matters

- The story situates a local landmark within a national celebration, highlighting Mammoth Cave’s historical and scientific significance as the longest known cave system in the world.

What Happens Next

- Special programming is being offered during National Park Week to connect visitors with the park’s history. A full schedule is available at nps.gov.

For Context

- Mammoth Cave National Park, established in 1941, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. The cave system’s surveyed length has grown over decades of exploration and mapping.

MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. (WBKO) -This week, national parks across the country are celebrating the places that help tell America’s story, and at Mammoth Cave National Park, that story stretches back long before the birth of the nation.

Under the hills of south central Kentucky are miles of passageways holding thousands of years of history. During National Park Week, Mammoth Cave is using that history to help tell a larger story.

“National Park Week is a moment for Mammoth Cave to join parks nationwide to celebrate places where America’s story was written and where it continues to unfold. And it’s especially exciting this year since we’re celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States,” said Jessie Cooper, a parks spokesperson with the National Park Service.

Theme marks 110 years of the National Park Service

This year’s theme is “Celebrate America’s Story,” marking 110 years since the National Park Service was created. But Mammoth Cave’s story began long before the park service, or even the United States.

“Archaeological research shows that Native Americans explored the cave thousands of years before modern tourism began,” Cooper said.

The National Park Service says humans were exploring Mammoth Cave as far back as 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, using cane torches to travel underground to mine minerals from its walls.

From ancient exploration to modern tourism

Centuries later, the cave became a tourist destination.

“Mammoth Cave’s history in tourism, it really kind of crosses the spectrum of everything from notable visits by people like Ralph Waldo Emerson, who came here in the 1800s, to more obscure uses like in the 1930s when it was used as a laboratory setting for a sleep study experiment,” Cooper said.

In 1941, Mammoth Cave became a national park. Today, more than 426 miles of passages have been surveyed, making it the longest known cave system in the world.

During National Park Week, rangers say special programming is designed to connect the past with people exploring the park today. A full list of programming can be found online.

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