The Mammoth Eagle: The CCC Era at Mammoth Cave

Today’s visitors to Mammoth Cave National Park sleep in cabins, drive over roads, and hike on miles of surface and cave trail constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and others during the 1930s and 40s to create Mammoth Cave National Park. While this was without question a difficult transition for the residents and region, the work completed during this time is nothing short of monumental. Compiling information from archives, oral histories, and camp newspapers, as well as field observations, this presentation will shed light on several forgotten or misunderstood stories from this period in Mammoth Cave history. The creation of Mammoth Cave National Park also serves as an interesting case study regarding the rapid expansion of the National Park Service during this era and the competing interests between wilderness conservation and public access to recreation