View source for Fall Creek Falls State Park

{{short description|State park in Tennessee, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox park
| name = Fall Creek Falls State Park
| photo = Fall creek falls 2003.jpg
| photo_width = 200
| photo_caption = 
| type = Tennessee State Park
| location = [[Bledsoe County, Tennessee|Bledsoe]] and [[Van Buren County, Tennessee|Van Buren]] counties
| coords = {{Coord|35.66211|-85.34978|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title}}
| area = {{convert|30638|acre|km2}}
| created = 1935
| operator = Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
| visitation_num = 
| status = 
| open = Year round
| website = [https://tnstateparks.com/parks/fall-creek-falls Fall Creek Falls State Park]
}}

'''Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park''' is a [[state park]] in [[Van Buren County, Tennessee|Van Buren]] and [[Bledsoe County, Tennessee|Bledsoe]] counties, in the U.S. state of [[Tennessee]]. The over {{convert|30638|acre|km2|adj=on}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=838 Acres Added to Fall Creek Falls State Park |url=https://www.tn.gov/environment/news/2022/10/20/838-acres-added-to-fall-creek-falls.html |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=www.tn.gov |language=en}}</ref> park is centered on the upper Cane Creek Gorge, an area known for its unique geological formations and scenic waterfalls.  The park's namesake is the {{convert|256|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Fall Creek Falls]], the highest free-fall waterfall east of the [[Mississippi River]].

==Geography==

===Setting===
The Cane Creek Gorge presents as a large gash in the western edge of the [[Cumberland Plateau]], stretching for some {{convert|15|mi|km}} from the Cane Creek Cascades to Cane Creek's mouth along the [[Caney Fork River]].  Cane Creek rises atop Little Mountain — which lines the plateau's eastern edge above [[Sequatchie Valley]] — and winds northward across the plateau.

Just beyond its source, Cane Creek slowly gains strength as it absorbs Meadow Creek and several smaller streams.  As the creek enters the gorge, it drops several hundred feet in less than a mile, including {{convert|45|ft|m}} over Cane Creek Cascades and {{convert|85|ft|m}} over Cane Creek Falls.  A few hundred meters north of Cane Creek Falls, Rockhouse Creek spills {{convert|125|ft|m}} over a plunge waterfall.  Over the next half-mile, Cane Creek absorbs Fall Creek and Piney Creek, both of which enter from smaller gorges to the immediate west.  During this stretch, part of the creek disappears underground into limestone sinks and reemerges at a spring known as "Crusher Hole."<ref>Stuart Carroll, "[http://www.state.tn.us/environment/tn_consv/archive/FallCreekFallsdiversity.pdf Fall Creek Falls State Park Natural Diversity]," 24 August 2004.  Retrieved: 8 January 2008.</ref> Cane Creek continues to lose elevation before steadying near its confluence with Dry Fork.  Beyond Dry Fork, the creek gradually descends to the [[Highland Rim]], where it empties into the Caney Fork River.

The man-made Fall Creek Falls Lake, controlled by a earthen dam, assures continuing flow of water to Fall Creek Falls.  The lake dominates the park's southern section.

===Features===

====Waterfalls====

[[Image:Rockhouse-falls-tennessee1.jpg|thumb|Rockhouse Falls]]
* '''[[Fall Creek Falls]]''', a {{convert|256|ft|m|adj=on}} plunge waterfall located just west of the creek's confluence with Cane Creek.  A short trail leads from the parking lot atop the plateau down to the base of the gorge, giving access to the waterfall's plunge pool.
* '''[[Cane Creek Falls]]''', an {{convert|85|ft|m|adj=on}} plunge waterfall located along Cane Creek, above the creek's confluence with Rockhouse Creek and Fall Creek.  The waterfall is visible from the Gorge Trail and from the base of the Cane Creek Gorge, which can be accessed via the Cable Trail.
* '''[[Cane Creek Cascades]]''', a {{convert|45|ft|m|adj=on}} cascade located along Cane Creek, just above Cane Creek Falls.
* '''[[Rockhouse Falls]]''', a {{convert|125|ft|m|adj=on}} plunge waterfall that marks Rockhouse Creek's confluence with Cane Creek.  The waterfall, which shares a plunge pool with Cane Creek Falls, is visible from the Gorge Trail and from the base of the Cane Creek Gorge.
* '''[[Piney Creek Falls]]''', a {{convert|95|ft|m|adj=on}} waterfall located along Piney Creek, a mile or so above its confluence with Cane Creek.  Trails lead to the base of the falls and an overlook above the falls.
* '''[[Coon Creek Falls]]''', a {{convert|250|ft|m|adj=on}} plunge waterfall that drops into the Fall Creek Gorge, nearly adjacent Fall Creek Falls.  Its proximity to Fall Creek Falls renders it less conspicuous.
* '''Lost Creek Falls''', a {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} plunge waterfall where water emerges from a cave above the falls and disappears from the pool at the base.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://tnlandforms.us/landforms/m.php?wpt=WHF008
 | title = Lost Cr.(Dodson) Falls 60'
 | last = Dunigan
 | first = Tom
 | website = Tennessee Waterfalls
 | publisher = Tennessee Landforms
 | access-date = February 7, 2017
 }}</ref>

====Overlooks====

[[Image:Rocky-point-overlook-tennessee1.jpg|thumb|View of Cane Creek Gorge from the Rocky Point Overlook]]

* '''Cane Creek Overlook''', located just off the Gorge Trail, looks out over Cane Creek Falls and Rockhouse Falls.
* '''Cane Creek Gorge Overlook''', located just off the Gorge Trail, looks northward across the Cane Creek Gorge.
* '''Rocky Point Overlook''', located just off the Gorge Trail on an exposed cliff, looks northward across the Cane Creek Gorge.
* '''Millikan's Overlook''', located just off the road in the Piney Creek section of the park, looks northward across the Cane Creek Gorge, near the confluence of Piney Creek and Cane Creek.
* '''Buzzard's Roost''', a cliff located near Millikan's Overlook.
* An overlook adjacent to the Fall Creek Falls parking lot looks down into the Fall Creek Gorge.

====Caves====

Along with waterfalls and overlooks, Fall Creek Falls State Park has the second-most caves of any park in the eastern U.S., behind [[Mammoth Cave National Park]].<ref name=times>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2012/oct/27/fall-creek-falls-state-park-expands-lost-creek-cav/91373/
 | title = Fall Creek Falls State Park expands, gets Lost Creek Cave and falls
 | last = Omarzu
 | first = Tim
 | date = October 27, 2012
 | publisher = Times Free Press
 | access-date = February 7, 2017 }}</ref>

* '''[[Rumbling Falls Cave]]''', which has the second largest cave chamber in the United States, is located in the park's Dry Fork section, near [[Spencer, Tennessee|Spencer]].<ref>Camas Davis, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20020224141510/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0203/q_n_a.html Exposing Tennessee's Titanic Cave Chamber] ." <!-- http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/tag-caves/jenkins-text/7 may be another reference --> ''National Geographic Adventure'' (March 2002).  Retrieved: 2 September 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://tectn.org/saving-ruby-falls-cave-from-spencer-sewage-treatment-plant/
 | title = Saving Ruby Falls Cave from Spencer Sewage Treatment Plant
 | last = Tyler
 | date = January 1, 2002
 | publisher = Tennessee Environmental Council
 | access-date = February 7, 2017
 | archive-date = February 8, 2017
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170208035216/http://tectn.org/saving-ruby-falls-cave-from-spencer-sewage-treatment-plant/
 | url-status = dead
 }} <!-- This is a dead link: http://www.tectn.org/pdf/TEC_News_Vol32.pdf Saving the Rumbling Falls Cave System ''Protect'' vol. 32, no. 1 (Spring 2002), 1, 6. --></ref>
* '''Camps Gulf Cave''' is another large cave located in the park that contains very large chambers.
* '''Lost Creek Cave''' has five entrances, contains a waterfall and {{convert|7|mi|km|1}} of passageways.<ref name=times />
* '''[[Cave Hollow]]''' is another cave in the park.

==History==

[[Image:Cane-creek-falls-tennessee1.jpg|thumb|Cane Creek Falls]]

The plateau areas above the Cane Creek Gorge are characterized by poor soil and weak resource potential, both exacerbated by the area's limited accessibility (by the 1920s, no major railroads and one crude highway passed between [[Pikeville, Tennessee|Pikeville]] and Spencer).  In the early 20th century, this section of Van Buren County still had only a handful of farms and no major coal mining or logging operations.  Local historian Arthur Weir Crouch, referring to Fall Creek Falls, wrote, "In the beginning and for many years it was a true wilderness area."<ref>Arthur Crouch, ''The Caney Fork of the Cumberland: The Story of a River, Its History, Features, Moods, People and Places with Particular Reference to Rock Island and the Area Above Great Falls'' (Nashville, Tenn.: Crouch, 1973), 81.</ref>

The few residents who lived in the Cane Creek area were often at the mercy of the creek, which, like most of the Upper Caney Fork watershed, was prone to flash flooding.  The Good Friday Flood of 1929, the most devastating of these floods, caused the Caney Fork and its tributaries to swell to record volumes and wiped out dozens of mills, houses, and bridges.  Lawson Fisher, who operated a [[gristmill|grist mill]] at the head of Cane Creek Falls at the time of the flood, recalled being awakened that night by the roar of the creek's rising waters.  Racing into the mill to save the mill's account books, Fisher later testified:

<blockquote>
I had taken perhaps four or five steps when I felt that old mill building quiver.  I turned and ran for the door and stepped out on solid ground, and then turned around to see what was going to happen, but folks, it had already happened.  The mill wasn't there.  I could just see pieces of planking and timbers going over the falls and rushing on down into the valley of Cane Creek below.<ref>Crouch, ''The Caney Fork of the Cumberland'', 17.</ref>
</blockquote>

Another resident recalled waking up to a cabin floor covered with several inches of water, and spending the night in the cabin loft watching helplessly as the water continued to rise.<ref>Crouch, ''The Caney Fork of the Cumberland'', 17–18.</ref>  Several smaller farms in the lower part of the valley were completely destroyed.  The Cane Creek Mill, which had stood above the falls since 1831, was never rebuilt.<ref>Crouch, ''The Caney Fork of the Cumberland'', 40.</ref>

===State park===

[[Image:Swingbridge-fall-creek-falls-tn1.jpg|thumb|A swingbridge spans Cane Creek, near the nature center]]

In 1937,  the U.S. government began purchasing the badly eroded land around Fall Creek Falls.  The following year, the [[Works Progress Administration]] and the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] began the work of restoring the forest and constructing park facilities.  The [[National Park Service]] transferred ownership of the park to the State of Tennessee in 1944.<ref>Ruth Nichols, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=451 Fall Creek Falls State Park]."  ''[[The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture]]'', 2002.  Retrieved: 7 January 2008.</ref><ref>Crouch, ''The Caney Fork of the Cumberland'', 81.</ref>

Millikan's Overlook is named after [[Glenn Allan Millikan|Glenn Millikan]], who was head of the Department of [[Physiology]] at [[Vanderbilt University School of Medicine]] and son of [[List of Nobel laureates|Nobel Laureate]] [[Robert Andrews Millikan|Robert A. Millikan]].<ref>Park information sign at Millikan's Overlook.</ref>  Millikan was killed by a falling rock on May 25, 1947, while rock climbing "Buzzard's Roost," the cliff beneath the overlook.<ref name = AAJ>{{cite journal
|date=April 1948|title=Accident Reports|url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12194810000/Appalachian-Mountains|journal=American Alpine Journal|publisher=The American Alpine Club|volume=7|issue=1|page=100|access-date = December 13, 2015}}</ref>

The lake was constructed in 1966, with the valves closed on October 18 of that year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Branham |first=Lowell |date=October 18, 1966 |title=Valves Closed, Lake Filling at Fall Creek |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-valves-close/131876361/ |page=9 |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date=September 17, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1968, work began on a modernization project that converted the state park into a resort park. This project included the construction of a new hotel, cabins, two pools, restaurant, amphitheater, general store, golf course, nature center, and trails. The $8 million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|8000000|1972}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}) project was completed and dedicated by Governor [[Winfield Dunn]] on July 8, 1972.<ref>{{cite news |last=Yarbrough |first=Willard |date=July 9, 1972 |title=Dunn Dedicates Fall Creek Park |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-dunn-dedicat/131874792/ |page=A-2 |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date=September 17, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=June 25, 1972 |title=Who, What, When, Where: Falls Creek Falls<!--Note: Typo in headline--> |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-leaf-chronicle-fall-creek-falls/131874996/ |page=7-B |work=Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle |access-date=September 17, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 2006, the State of Tennessee purchased {{convert|12500|acre|km2}} of land along the White-Van Buren County line, in the vicinity of Bledsoe State Forest. The purchase was part of an effort to create an unbroken corridor of publicly owned land between Fall Creek Falls State Park and [[Scott's Gulf]], a few miles to the north in [[White County, Tennessee|White County]].<ref>The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, "[http://www.state.tn.us/environment/news/release/2006/Nov/bowater.shtml Bredesen Announces Purchase of More than 12,500 Acres from Bowater Incorporated]."  27 November 2006.  Retrieved:  8 January 2008.</ref>

==Park facilities and management==

Fall Creek Falls State Park is open year-round and is managed by the [[Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation]].  Park facilities currently include cabins, campgrounds, a visitor center, the Betty Dunn Nature Center, a marina, a general store, a [[snack bar]], an 85 room hotel and a restaurant.

The park has 30 cabins – 20 fishermen cabins and 10 landside cabins.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Fall Creek Falls State Park|url = http://tnstateparks.com/parks/cabins/fall-creek-falls|website = Tennessee State Parks|access-date = 2016-01-06}}</ref> The park has 222 campsites in five different areas. All sites have tables, grills, water, and electricity and are served by six bathhouses.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Fall Creek Falls State Park|url = http://tnstateparks.com/parks/campground/fall-creek-falls|website = Tennessee State Parks|access-date = 2016-01-06}}</ref>

An 18-hole [[golf course]], Olympic-sized swimming pool, and several miles of hiking trails and paved biking trails are available in the park.

In 2013–2014, the park underwent some minor renovations of its facilities. The landside cabins and fisherman cabins were updated, and a privately operated zip line was installed at the Village Green.<ref>Ben Benton, "[http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/jul/27/fall-creek-falls-cabins-target-of-14/?print Fall Creek Falls Cabins Target of $1.4 Million Facelift]," ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'', 27 July 2013.</ref>

===Inn===
The Fall Creek Falls Inn and Conference Center offered 144 guest rooms and over {{convert|5000|sqft|m2}} of banquet space in five conference rooms, which accommodated up to 400 people.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Fall Creek Falls State Park|url = http://tnstateparks.com/parks/group-facilities/fall-creek-falls-meeting-and-conference-rooms|website = Tennessee State Parks|access-date = 2016-01-06}}</ref> The buildings were designed with a [[brutalist architecture]], having a combination of dark brick, and gray [[concrete]] with an exposed aggregate of smooth white, beige, tan, and brownish river stones.  Built in the 1960s, with a rooms-only [[wikt:annex|annex]] in the 1970s, they were closed in early April 2018 and [[demolish]]ed later that year, after [[Tennessee Governor]] [[Bill Haslam]] pushed for [[privatization]] and potential [[concessionaire]]s refused to bid on serving the older facilities at the state's resort parks.

Cost overruns and underestimates, and a tight [[labor market]] in such a rural area, led to a need for more money from the [[Tennessee General Assembly]] in 2019, in turn allowing construction to resume in the autumn.  It is expected to finally reopen in late summer or early autumn of 2021, with only 75 to 95 guest rooms, at a cost of slightly over $40 million (up from $29 million originally).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebledsonian-banner.com/2019/09/18/fall-creek-falls-inn-construction-to-resume/|title = Fall Creek Falls Inn construction to resume}}</ref> It is currently unknown how much nightly room rates will be increased.

Both counties objected to the long-term closure of the inn due to the significant loss of [[lodging tax]]es and [[sales tax]]es, as well as employees who would be left without a job or forced to relocate or commute long distances to other state parks, even when the closure and reconstruction were expected to be far shorter.  Proposals to build on the opposite side of the lake before closing the original inn were declined, largely due to the lack of sufficient [[sewerage]] facilities there.

== In the arts ==
Artist [[Gilbert Gaul (artist)|Gilbert Gaul]], who gained national acclaim for his [[U.S. Civil War|Civil War]] illustrations, operated from a studio south of Spencer on land currently owned by the park.<ref>Teresa Biddle-Douglass, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=534 William Gilbert Gaul]."  ''[[The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture]]'', 2002.  Retrieved: 8 January 2008.</ref> The '''Gaul's Gallery''' restaurant at the inn was named for him.

Fall Creek Falls State Park was used as one of the primary filming locations for [[20th Century Fox]]'s fantasy adventure film ''[[Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie]]'', [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]]'s live action film adaptation of ''[[The Jungle Book (1994 film)|The Jungle Book]]''{{r|films|page1=13}} and the [[comic science fiction]] film ''[[Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam]]'', starring [[Jim Varney]].{{r|films|page1=16}} Scenes from the 1986 movie ''[[King Kong Lives]]'', starring [[Linda Hamilton]], were filmed in the area of Cane Creek Cascades and Cane Creek Falls.{{r|films|page1=16}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
 <ref name=films>{{cite web
 | url = http://tn.gov/film/PDF/filmography-2010.pdf
 | title = Tennessee Film/Videography
 | date = 2010
 | publisher = Tennessee Film, Entertainment & Music Commission
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141029114846/http://tn.gov/film/PDF/filmography-2010.pdf
 | archive-date = October 29, 2014
 | access-date = February 7, 2017}}</ref> }}

==Further reading==
*Matthews, Larry E.,  "Caves of Fall Creek Falls",  National Speleological Society,  October, 2016,  322 pages,  {{ISBN|978-1-68044-007-2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fall Creek Falls State Park}}
* [https://tnstateparks.com/parks/fall-creek-falls Fall Creek Falls State Park official website]
* [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=451 Fall Creek Falls State Park] in ''[[Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture]]''
* [http://www.darklightimagery.net/RFC/thumbs.html Rumbling Falls — Into the Void] — image gallery of Rumbling Falls Cave

{{Protected areas of Tennessee}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:State parks of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Van Buren County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Bledsoe County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Waterfalls of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Nature centers in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Landforms of Bledsoe County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1935]]
[[Category:1935 establishments in Tennessee]]