Since its formation, Lake Cumberland has become one of the most favored recreation spots east of the Mississippi, with over four million people visiting the lake each year.
Before the formation of this region for recreational purposes in 1950, the area had an interesting history beginning in 1748. During that year Dr. Thomas Walker led a party of hunters across the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia. Walker was an explorer and surveyor of renown. It was Walker who named a lofty range of mountains his party crossed, in honor of Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. The area came to be known popularly as "Cumberland". Finding a beautiful mountain stream flowing across their course they called it the "Cumberland River."
Before Walker's trip, the Cumberland River had been called Warioto by Native Americans and Shauvanon by French traders. For years after Walker's trip, the river was known as the Shawnee River.
The river has a history in the Civil War as well as some of the most noted battles took place along its shores Civil War battles occurred near the Cumberland River, including the battle for Fort Donelson. The Union Army of the Cumberland was named after the river.
Lake Cumberland was formed in the 1940s when a dam was constructed on a large section of the Cumberland River. Its purpose originally was quite practical as it was made primarily for flood control and for the production of hydroelectric power. In 1950 the lake was filled with water to a capacity of 6,089,000 acre-feet. The dam ranks as the 22nd largest in the country and the reservoir are 9th in size.
LAKE CUMBERLAND became a Mecca for recreating in the mid 20th Century. Today record fishing, wildlife that includes bald eagles, bear & elk, 1,200 miles of shoreline, countless waterfalls and innumerable coves make this the most visited recreational area in the southeast.