Fall Creek Falls
State Park
Wintertime at Fall Creek Falls State Park ca. 1973 RG 82, Department of Conservation Photograph Collection |
Fall Creek Falls & Coon Creek Falls January 15, 1951 RG 82, Department of Conservation Fall Creek Falls is Tennessee's second-largest park; it consists of 19,684 acres and is located between Spencer and Pikeville along the border of Van Buren and Bledsoe counties. Park construction began in 1936 following the arrival of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA). The CCC restocked wildlife and began reforestation, and the WPA assisted with the construction of the park's facilities. The State Forestry Service and Department of Agriculture administered the park throughout the 1930s and 1940s. The National Park Service oversaw development, which included parking areas, picnic and camping facilities, trails, etc.
Today, park attendance places Fall Creek Falls among the state's most heavily visited recreational sites. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has successfully retained the parks' most valuable resources, including the spectacular 250-foot namesake, Fall Creek Falls, as well as Cane Creek Gulf, Cane Creek Falls, Rockhouse Falls, Piney Creek Falls, numerous gorges, natural foliage, and an abundance of wildlife species. Today, the park remains, as the National Park Service remarked in the mid-1930s, "unquestionably one of the most outstanding beauty regions" in the United States. |
Aerial view of Fall Creek Falls State Park March 11, 1941 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Piney Creek Falls in winter ca. 1973 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Chesser Point at the Fall Creek Gulf April 28, 1938 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Chesser Point at the Fall Creek Gulf 2006 Photograph by Kimberly Wires |
J. W. Wheeler, of Unionville, viewing Fall Creek Falls May 1, 1947 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Swimming hole in Cane Creek April 28, 1938 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Fall Creek Falls 2006 Photograph by Kimberly Wires |
Rockhouse Falls 2006 Photograph by Kimberly Wires |
Evan Pitt teaching fire control methods September 26, 1952 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
New radio equipment for forest fire control September 26, 1952 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Fall Creek Falls in winter February 3, 1951 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Cane Creek Falls June 20, 1938 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Cane Creek Cascades ca. 1973 RG 82, Department of Conservation |
Suspension bridge over 2006 Photograph by Kimberly Wires |
Section researched and written by Kimberly Wires, Archival Assistant.
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