In 1750 the Cumberland Falls was rediscovered by the explorer Thomas Walker who named it after the Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn.
The first recorded landowners of the falls were Matthew Walton and Adam Shepard in 1800, both engineers who served under George Washington during the American Revolution.
Walton and Shepard surveyed the land in 1814, and were issued a land patent in 1828.

The first landowners to settle permanently at Cumberland Falls were Lewis Renfro, a Baptist minister, and his wife Mary, who built a cabin there in 1850, which would later be used as a hospital during the American Civil War.
 The falls and 400 acres of surrounding land were purchased in 1875 by Socrates Owens, who there built the Cumberland Hotel, which was taken over by his wife Nannie and his son Edward following his death.
The land and hotel were purchased in 1902 by Henry Brunson, who managed it along with his two daughters until 1931.

In 1927 the Kiwanis Club sponsored a trail to be built from nearby Corbin, Kentucky, and dedicated to Kentucky governor William J. Fields.
Construction occupied some 200 laborers over nine weeks.
However, as late as 1929, the Izaak Walton League wrote of access to the falls saying:
The unspoiled charm of Cumberland Falls is due to the fact that the falls are difficult to reach ... Road maps show roads leading from Corbin, twenty miles to the northeast, and from Williamsburg, eighteen miles from the southeast, but both these are so rough as to be practicable only for saddle-horses.

In 1928, a proposal to accept the falls as a park was brought to the floor of the Kentucky Senate but was defeated.

In the late 1920s, there were plans to build a hydroelectric power station upstream, and divert the river through a mountain tunnel to a point below the falls.
However, the Cumberland Falls Preservation Association, formed by businessman Rober Blair, convinced T. Coleman du Pont to purchase the falls and surrounding land, and stipulate they were never to be used for hydroelectricity.
In 1930, following his death, the family of du Pont made the decision to donate the 539 acres (218 ha) to the state.
On March 10, 1930, the Kentucky House and Senate overrode the veto of Governor Flem D. Sampson, and voted to accept the land from the du Pont family.
The park was officially opened on September 7, 1931.

In the 1950s, plans were again announced for the development of upstream hydroelectric power, but were again defeated by the Preservation Association.
In 1750 the Cumberland Falls was rediscovered by the explorer Thomas Walker who named it after the Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn. The first recorded landowners of the falls were Matthew Walton and Adam Shepard in 1800, both engineers who served under George Washington during the American Revolution. Walton and Shepard surveyed the land in 1814, and were issued a land patent in 1828.
The first landowners to settle permanently at Cumberland Falls were Lewis Renfro, a Baptist minister, and his wife Mary, who built a cabin there in 1850, which would later be used as a hospital during the American Civil War.  The falls and 400 acres of surrounding land were purchased in 1875 by Socrates Owens, who there built the Cumberland Hotel, which was taken over by his wife Nannie and his son Edward following his death. The land and hotel were purchased in 1902 by Henry Brunson, who managed it along with his two daughters until 1931.
In 1927 the Kiwanis Club sponsored a trail to be built from nearby Corbin, Kentucky, and dedicated to Kentucky governor William J. Fields. Construction occupied some 200 laborers over nine weeks. However, as late as 1929, the Izaak Walton League wrote of access to the falls saying:
The unspoiled charm of Cumberland Falls is due to the fact that the falls are difficult to reach ... Road maps show roads leading from Corbin, twenty miles to the northeast, and from Williamsburg, eighteen miles from the southeast, but both these are so rough as to be practicable only for saddle-horses.
In 1928, a proposal to accept the falls as a park was brought to the floor of the Kentucky Senate but was defeated.
In the late 1920s, there were plans to build a hydroelectric power station upstream, and divert the river through a mountain tunnel to a point below the falls. However, the Cumberland Falls Preservation Association, formed by businessman Rober Blair, convinced T. Coleman du Pont to purchase the falls and surrounding land, and stipulate they were never to be used for hydroelectricity. In 1930, following his death, the family of du Pont made the decision to donate the 539 acres (218 ha) to the state. On March 10, 1930, the Kentucky House and Senate overrode the veto of Governor Flem D. Sampson, and voted to accept the land from the du Pont family. The park was officially opened on September 7, 1931.
In the 1950s, plans were again announced for the development of upstream hydroelectric power, but were again defeated by the Preservation Association.
Cumberland Falls