Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles about Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its dedication this year. Each article will tell a different story — one will look at the story of Hensley Settlement, another will focus on the success story of many natural resources, plants and animals. Daring searches, fires, and other incidents will also be recounted. Perhaps the most amazing story of all, the building of the tunnel and the restoration of the historic Wilderness Road through the Gap, will bring the vision of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park full-circle — back to what a few dreamers foresaw as the potential of this beautiful area.

The day was hot — that fact lives on in everyone’s memory. But the excitement in the air overshadowed the heat, as thousands of people converged on Middlesboro during the July 4th, 1959 weekend, in what many remember as the largest celebration ever held here, before or since. They all came together to celebrate the dedication of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, at that time the largest historical park in the nation, and a dream that had been in the works for more than 30 years.

The idea for a national park in the area was first discussed back in the 1920s at a Middlesboro Kiwanis Club meeting. Club president Arthur Liebig and T. Russ Hill followed up the enthusiastic discussion with a visit to Washington DC, where they met with Kentucky Representative John M. Robsion. Robsion introduced several bills over the next few years calling for the establishment of a Lincoln National Park and then a Civil War memorial in the Gap, but none of the bills made it out of committee.

The idea didn’t die then, however. Local discussion continued over the next decade and in 1936 many concerned citizens hailing from all over the tri-states region asked the National Park Service to send surveyors to the area; one year later the survey was completed and their conclusion was that the Cumberland Gap area deserved the status of a national historical park. From there the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Association was formed, and on June 11, 1940, “An Act to provide for the establishment of the CGNHP” was passed by both houses of Congress.

Two of the many local people whose names kept reappearing over the years and who made the creation of the park a priority in their lives were Robert L. Kincaid and Howard J. Douglass. Kincaid at one time served as editor of the Middlesboro Daily News, in which he wrote many passionate editorials in favor of the park; as executive vice president and later president of Lincoln Memorial University, he was very instrumental in helping along the acquisition of the Tennessee portion of the park. Douglass, as executive secretary of the Middlesboro Chamber of Commerce, worked tirelessly for more than two decades lobbying and later becoming land buyer for the states of Kentucky and Virginia, a necessary but sometimes thankless task.

From 1940 fast forward to 1959, when, after many years of legislation, land acquisition, funding crises, and other triumphs and roadblocks, dedication day finally arrived.

And so, for two days in July, 1959, Vice President Richard M. Nixon, the Secretary of the Interior, the director of the National Park Service, and U. S. Senators from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia all converged on the small town of Middlesboro to welcome this newest addition to the National Park system. Parades, speeches, fireworks and tours marked the culmination of more than 25 years of planning and hard work by local organizations and individuals who recognized the area for its immense historical and natural value.

Decorated war hero and local businessman Harry Hoe was the general chairman of the dedication committee and remembers the weekend very well. “We had a chance to do something good for the park and for the community, and we did,” he said, and recalls comments made by park service officials after the events that “never before in their history had they ever known a local community, a little town, to go to such a big effort for the dedication.”

And what a parade it was — 20 bands, 70 trained horses and riders, the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, and 30 scenic historic floats including scenes from the Four Seasons Hotel, the Middlesboro Golf Course, and a “hillbilly” theme complete with moonshine still. Marvin Mayhall was one of the parade coordinators and remembers being up all night the night before, planning and welcoming visiting participants, as well as finding stables for the dozens of horses!

The horses were featured the next day as well in the “Nation’s First Parade of the 49 State Flags” (July 4th was also the day that the new 49-star flag was unveiled, signaling the entrance of Alaska to the United States). Cumberland Avenue was again closed as riders rode horses equipped with specially made flag holsters to the park. Waiting to place the flags into the ground along the Visitor Center walkway was Middlesboro native Albert Earle and other members of newly formed Boy Scout Troop 32; Earle, 13 years old at the time, placed the first flag — Alabama, and remembers his moment in the sun clearly, “The scout leaders lined us up by height, and being the tallest kid in the country at that time, I got to go first!”

Betty Hayes, who also played a large part in lobbying for the creation of the park, watched the parade from the top of the National Bank building (now World Wide Gap) — “and remembers it as “an unbelievable parade — just a perfect day,” and credits the appearance of then Vice President Richard M. Nixon with the huge crowds, estimated at 35,000 by the Middlesboro Daily News.

Ernest Mike, former Middlesboro police chief and U.S. Marshall, was asked to drive Nixon while he was in town on July 3rd, and remembers it as if it were yesterday. “Keep your eyes on that car every minute,” were his instructions from the secret service. Mike proudly recalls chatting with Nixon and has kept the letter that the vice president sent him after the event, thanking him for his service. Nixon got out at the Hotel Cumberland on Cumberland Avenue to say a few words to the crowd. Having toured the Pinnacle earlier in the day, Nixon described the experience, saying “I saw one of the greatest views I have seen in the country — for that matter, in the world.”’

This July 4th, the park will celebrate its 50th anniversary with speakers, music, a recreation of the parade of flags by local youth, led by Albert Earle recreating his role of 50 years ago, and a special recognition of the community members who worked so hard to see the park established. There will be the premiere of a short film using oral histories gathered this year along with historical photos from the park archives and other surprise activities.

Martha Wiley is the historian for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Information for this article was gathered from the archives of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, past issues of the Middlesboro Daily News, and oral histories generously related by community members.