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| The view at right is an artist's rendition, based upon extensive historical research, of the passage through the saddle of the Gap during the time of Daniel Boone. The sketch, looking from Kentucky into Viriginia, shows the rocky, undulating terrain that animals, Indians, explorers, and settlers encountered during their westward migration through the centuries. |  |
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Yet only 200 years after Boone, the landscape had been significantly altered. Where buffalo once trod, a two-lane highway cleaved the Gap. When Cumberland Gap National Historical Park was first established in 1955, it was envisioned that highway 25E would be removed from the Gap, and that Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road would be restored to a late-1700s appearance. On August 13, 1973, Public Law 93-87 was signed, authorizing funding "to finance the cost of reconstruction and relocation of Route 25E through Cumberland Gap National Historical Park." The bill provided for the construction of a tunnel through the mountain and the construction of the necessary approachways "to permit restoration of the gap and provide adequate traffic capacity." In 1978, funds became available through the Highway Trust Fund to re-route the road through a twin-bore tunnel, thus making the restoration of the Gap possible. |
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| The Development Concept Plan was completed in 1990. The plan calls for the restoration of Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road. Two key objectives were identified: (1) provide the opportunity for visitors to walk to the Gap along the Wilderness Road; and (2) foster public understanding and appreciation for the park and its historical and natural resources. The plan called for Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road to be restored to portray a period of time between 1780 and 1810. A partial restoration of Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road allows visitors to gain the perspective of early |  |
| travelers, as the restoration restored a historically
accurate and natural condition to the Gap, to a portion of the Wilderness
Road on the Kentucky side, and to a portion of the horizontal trace of
the Wilderness Road on the Virginia side. The restoration involved approximately
5.8 acres, including revegetation of the road alignment using native grasses,
shrubs, and trees.
The Development concept Plan also called for: (1) construction, restoration, or upgrading of the park's trail system, which will tie the majority of the park's trails into the Gap and the Object Lesson Road; (2) construction of three new parking lots to facilitate visitor access to the Gap and the Wilderness Road; (3) construction of a new visitor contact station on the Virginia side between the O'Dell House and the Wilderness Road; (4) restoration of Gap Cave (formerly Cudjo's Cave) to its original condition, with guided tours using lanterns for light as a simulation of early visits to the cave; (5) upgrading the exhibits in the visitor center; and (6) restoration of a 1.8-acre portion of the historic Object Lesson Road. The completion of the Cumberland Gap Highway tunnel opened the door for Gap restoration. Visitors are now able to retrace the footsteps of Daniel Boone and possibly their own early ancestors along the Wilderness Road Trail and experience the emotions of those who passed through the Gap in the late 1700s and early 1800s – and perhaps feel the same hope, triumph, anticipation, contemplation, and sense of adventure. |
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