Oral History Collections

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park has five oral history collections. The majority of the Hensley Settlement Collection was created from 1960-1970.The 50th Anniversary, Pre-Park Community, Employee, and Job Corps Collections have been gathered in the past six years.All interviews are available, either on CD or in transcript form. Contact us by e-mail.


Hensley Settlement Collection (1960 - 1970, 2010 - 2011)

This collection contains the narratives of residents of Hensley Settlement, collected soon after the park was established. The topics covered include lifestyles and buildings of the settlement.

Sherman Hensley	Wallace and Stella Hensley
Herbert Hensley	Park Hensley
Gilbert Hensley	Lige Hensley
Nancy Gibbons	Jess Gibbons
Dorothy Greene Muncey	Hazel Thomas
Herbert Thompson	Hillary Wilder
Anna Scott Hensley	Nancy Gibbons Taylor

50^th Anniversary Collection (2008 - 2010)

This collection contains the narratives of people who were instrumental in creating and/or dedicating the park. Topics include planning of the 1959 dedication; working with both President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon; gathering support for the park on a regional level.

Albert Earle	Betty Hayes
Harry Hoe	Marvin Mayhill
Ernest Mike

Pre-Park Community Collection (2008 - Present)

This collection contains the stories of people who either lived or worked in places that became part of the national park. Topics include changes in the changes in the town af Cumberland Gap; having to move from family lands because of the coming of the park; living and working in places now owned by the park.

Jean Ausmus	Gary Burchett
Ann Estep	Clarence Lambdin
Ed Morrison	Betty Jo Goforth Pittman
Roger Rhodes / Joey Beason	Claude and Ann Seals
Jack Skidmore	Freda VanBever
Rosalie Walker

Park Employee Collection (2008 - Present)
This collection contains the narratives of people who have worked for the park in various capacities over the past 50 years. The topics include interpretive activities at Hensley Settlement in the 1980s, working at the park in the 1950s, building the tunnel, and working in facility management, interpretation, and law enforcement over the years.

Richard Beeler	Fred Boyles
Fred Branham	William Carter
Charles Chadwell	Virginia Huff
Ann Justice	Janice Miracle
Gary Ramsey	Tom Shattuck
David Robinson	Jack Skidmore
James Thomas	Carlie Thompson
Hershel Whitaker	Mark Woods

Job Corps Collection (2014 - Present)
This Collection consists of the narratives of former staff and corpsmen of the Cumberland Gap Job Corps Center, which was in existence from 1965 - 1969. The topics covered include recruitment, relations with the surrounding area, and work done in the park.

A. Wayne Bishop	Shirley Howard
Delmar Robinson	Wilma Johnson Rose
Sonny Potter Short	Margaret Orr Simmons