Tom Wallace and the Cumberland Falls Fight, 1926-1931

University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2005 Hanging the moonbow : Tom Wallace and the Cumberland Falls fight, 1926-1931. Noah Garland Huffman 1981- University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Huffman, Noah Garland 1981-, "Hanging the moonbow : Tom Wallace and the Cumberland Falls fight, 1926-1931." (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 648. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/648 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HANGING THE MOONBOW: TOM WALLACE AND THE CUMBERLAND FALLS FIGHT, 1925-1931 By Noah Garland Huffman B.A., Furman University, 2003 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of History University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2005 ii DEDICATION For their continued support, encouragement, and love, I dedicate this thesis to my parents—all four of them: Priscilla Garland and James B. Tennill and Richard Huffman and Saundra Huffman iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As with any project of this scope, there are a number of people whose insight, support, and encouragement have contributed to the completion of this thesis. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge Tom Wallace. For the past year and a half I have spent the bulk of my day with Wallace. After reading and cataloging nearly 23 cubic feet and almost 40 years worth of his correspondence, speeches, and editorials, I am still in awe of his intellect, energy, and dedication to service. Truly, as Wallace himself often remarked of Henry Watterson: “There were giants in those days.” Even more than Tom Wallace, however, there are those who have supported me both personally and professionally, without whose guidance and understanding I could never have completed this project. For her persistence, honesty, and encouragement throughout my entire graduate career, I would especially like to thank my advisor Tracy K’Meyer. In the last few months her comments and criticism have improved this thesis immeasurably, and her high standards have made me a better writer and a better historian. I would also like to thank the other two members of my committee, John T. Cumbler and John Ferré. Although I met both of them only weeks before my defense, their willingness to serve at the last minute is certainly an indication of their understanding and professionalism. In addition, professors Thomas Mackey, Christine Ehrick, and Wayne Lee have made my graduate career at the University of Louisville an enjoyable and productive one. I would also like to acknowledge the entire history iv department at Furman University, especially professors Erik Ching, Tim Fehler, John Barrington, and Ronald Granieri for their inspiration and dedication to teaching. More than anyone else, they have inspired my intellectual curiosity and convinced me of the enjoyment and value of historical scholarship. Without the additional support of The Filson Historical Society over the past two years, this project would have been immensely more difficult. By employing me to catalog Wallace’s personal papers first as an intern and now as a full-time staff member, The Filson has not only made research for this thesis possible, but also enhanced my appreciation for archives and archivists. Day in and day out, the staff at The Filson have lived with Tom Wallace and Cumberland Falls vicariously through my endless anecdotes and not so subtle segues. Specifically, my friends and coworkers in Special Collections-- Jim Holmberg, Elizabeth Kissack, Jacob Lee, Becky Rice, and Mike Veach—have been a constant source of encouragement and a captive audience for all things Wallace. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my mother, Priscilla Garland, for her unfailing support of my academic pursuits and most importantly for her unconditional love for the past 24 years. More than any other, she has taught me that there are still giants even today. v ABSTRACT HANGING THE MOONBOW: TOM WALLACE AND THE CUMBERLAND FALLS FIGHT, 1926-1931 Noah Garland Huffman December 2005 This thesis is an examination of Louisville Times editor Tom Wallace’s fight to prevent the construction of a hydroelectric dam at Cumberland Falls, Kentucky between 1926 and 1931. By mining Wallace’s recently cataloged personal papers, this study provides a narrative of Wallace’s lead role in the campaign that resulted in the preservation of Cumberland Falls and the establishment of a state park on the site in 1931. More importantly, however, as a case study of conservation activism during the understudied period from late 1920s and early 1930s, this thesis illustrates how Wallace developed certain arguments and strategies that were especially effective in confronting the social, political, and cultural currents of the era. As this thesis argues, Wallace’s activism highlights a transitional and creative period in the conservation movement’s history. By crafting and disseminating arguments in direct response to emerging trends like the consumer economy, the rise in auto tourism and recreation, and the growing public distrust for power trusts and lobbyists, Wallace’s activism mobilized a number of interests previously untapped by conservation activists. For this reason, his preservation vi campaign succeeded at Cumberland Falls at a time when conservation activism waned at the national level. The thesis is divided into five sections, an introduction and four chapters. The introduction situates the Cumberland Falls episode in the broader context of conservation history and considers the historiography of the conservation movement. In addition, it outlines Wallace’s arguments and strategies during the Falls campaign and explores why his campaign was ultimately successful. Chapter one has two main objectives. First it provides a brief history of Cumberland Falls prior to the controversy. Second, it considers Wallace’s background leading up to the episode. The remaining chapters examine Wallace’s role in the complex chain of events that culminated in the preservation of the Falls in 1931. The final chapter also briefly discusses Wallace’s rise to prominence and his evolution as a conservationist in the wake of the Cumberland Falls campaign. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DEDICATION………………………………………………………………….……… iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………….....…….iv ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………….………….vi INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….………1 CHAPTER I: CUMBERLAND FALLS “DISCOVERED”…………………….………17 CHAPTER II: POLITICS AND PROPAGANDA AT KENTUCKY’S “NIAGARA”...35 CHAPTER III: “CAUGHT IN THE POWER NET”: CUMBERLAND FALLS ENTERS THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT……………………………...54 CHAPTER IV: VICTORY AND AFTERMATH………………………………….…...79 REFERENCES....………………………………………………………………….…….96 CURRICULUM VITAE………………………………………………………….…….100 viii INTRODUCTION Between 1926 and 1931 conservationists in Kentucky and across the nation waged a bitter but ultimately successful campaign to prevent the construction of a hydroelectric dam at Cumberland Falls in southeastern Kentucky. At the forefront of that campaign was Tom Wallace, the chief editorial writer for the Louisville Times. Through his visibility and professional contacts with other journalists, conservationists, and politicians, Wallace brought national attention to the Falls case. In the end, through his persistent agitation and advocacy, Wallace amassed enough media attention and political pressure to save the Falls. This thesis is an examination of Wallace’s signal role in the fight to save Cumberland Falls. In addition to providing a narrative of this case, however, this thesis also sheds light on the state of conservation advocacy during the late 1920s and early 1930s. In many surveys of the conservation movement, historians have disregarded this unique period, arguing instead that conservation activism receded after the Progressive era and did not reappear in earnest until the New Deal with federal agencies like the Civilian Conservation Corps and Tennessee Valley Authority. Indeed, Philip Shabecoff suggests in his overview of the environmental movement that after John Muir’s death in 1914, “some of the spirit of the preservation movement died.”1 In addition, President 1 Philip Shabecoff, A Fierce Green Fire: The American Environmental Movement (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2003), 73. 1 Coolidge’s unabashed support of business in the mid 1920s contributed to an atmosphere where preservation “was not considered an important part of that business by the government and many of its citizens.”2 Historian Robert Gottlieb agrees, noting the transformations in the federal conservation agenda during the 1920s. “By the close of the Progressive era in the 1920s,” Gottlieb argues, “conservation as expertise and rational management of resources for business uses had emerged as the movement’s determinant ideology.”3 Thus, while Shabecoff and Gottlieb accurately point out that preservation did take a back seat on the federal agenda during

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