Changes Needed at Cummins Falls State Park

Changes Needed at Cummins Falls State Park 

Dana Koogler

Wednesday June 19, 2019

   No doubt Cummins Falls is a beautiful waterfall in a lovely setting out in the country.

I first became aware of it back in about 2004.  It was primarily a hang out for locals, and Tennessee Tech students as a swimming hole.   It was included in Gregory Plumb's first edition of Waterfalls of Tennessee.    The first time Kenny and I went looking for it we found it, but 
could not figure out how to get down to the base.  A route to the base was not mentioned in the book nor even suggested.    We merely viewed it from the Cummins Mill Road side of the falls where we parked and walked the short distance to it.   I later got in communication with a TTU student who was able to tell me how to reach the base.   It involved fording the Blackburn Fork River, going along the opposite bank and finding a roped route down to the base of the falls.  It was in the general vicinity of where the overlook is now.    

     The area at that time was known to be risky and usually three or four times a year the Jackson County rescue squad would be called to either help some injured person or retrieve the corpse of a drowning victim from the gorge.  Usually at least one injury per year and about a drowning every other year.   It was a known risk  when it was private property.

   The folks who used it knew the risks.  1. You're trespassing 2.  You're fording a wide river 3. 
You are swimming without a lifeguard in a deep gorge at least seventy five feet down.  4. If you get in trouble help is a long way off and it isn't going to be easy to get down to help you.  
At least back in those days the numbers of persons using it were far fewer. If you had sense enough to figure out how to get down there you probably had enough sense to know you were taking a chance on getting hurt or killed.   

Cummins Falls circa 2005.. prior to its becoming a state park.
Our first visit here to the base of the falls. 

    We made it there and down the bluff to go swimming.  We initially had the place to ourselves.

We were joined by a group of three guys and one girl.  They were all young adults. They were a lot of fun, and we swam together.  We later went hiking to another area waterfall they wanted us to see.    While down there they sat on one of the lower ledges and I took their photo. 

One of the guys took his toe and gently pushed another one in the butt.  The one who got pushed slid off the ledge and dropped about six feet into the plunge pool.  

   The young man popped up almost immediately, but I could tell something was not right.

He was very pale.  He had hit his chest on a large submerged rock under the water where he fell in.   We had to get him out of there and back to Cookeville to the hospital.   He was in a fair amount of pain.  We just did manage to get him up that bluff and into the vehicles to take him to get help.   He turned gray on the way up the bluff and he was having a vaso vagal response to the pain and injury.   We were fortunate what started off as a prank between friends did not turn into a deal breaker ending that young fellow's life.   

Party on dudes! Mike and Mark 

Right after this photo was taken disaster struck.  

   We did visit again in Spring of 2010 and an overlook platform had been constructed.  We were able to view the falls from there, but still went down the bluff on rope to view the falls and Spring wildflowers.    

Above: brand new construction of the overlook platform at Cummins Falls. It still wasn't a state park at this point.  
Above: Kenny is ahead of me going down the bluff on a rope.  It required two ropes to make it to the bottom.


Looking back up the bluff at the first rope.



Above: Looking back at the tie off of what I think was the second rope.   Yeah. We were idiots, but we made it down and back alive.


Above: Springtime at Cummins Falls.  circa 2010



above: Gorge walls opposite the place we came down. There is no point of egress possible on the far side of the Blackburn Fork River near Cummins Mill Road.   Sheer cliffs.  Only slightly better on the side where the overlook is.

     You can see from the photos that there is no easy way in or out of the gorge where Cummins Falls lies.    The state secured 282 acres of property including the falls and opened it as a state park in 2011.   We have not been back since 2010.    Droves of people are the primary reason for our avoidance of the area.   All the various injuries and drownings since it opened as a state park have done nothing to entice me to return.   The opening of the state park has created a different access point  from Blackburn Fork Road.  Now there is official parking and a picnic area and restrooms.
Access to the overlook requires a 0.5 mile one way hike.  Access to the gorge and the falls from the base now is via trail and is a 1.5 to 2 mile one way trip.  Even though a trail has been constructed the
route up to the base of the falls is still rugged.   Fording the Blackburn Fork is not an easy task even during lower water levels. The river's bottom is mainly flat allowing lots of silt and slime to accumulate.  I can remember having to shuffle my feet because picking up even one foot sent me sliding.   It is that bad.

       The number of injuries and drownings picked up from 2011 to the present.  They have
provided life jackets and strongly suggested wearing them.   July of  2017 a disaster of even greater proportion struck.     Two inches of rain fell in a short period of time causing a flash flood to come gushing down the Blackburn Fork River and over Cummins Falls stranding swimmers and hikers in the gorge.  Rescue efforts were initiated, but in the chaos that ensued Peggy McDaniel age 73 was drowned.  A lady who was one of the persons trying to rescue her, 45 year old Lisa Hillian also drowned in the attempt to save her fellow swimmer.    I cannot imagine that the job of Jackson County rescue squad has gotten any easier since this came about.  It is usually them who has to respond to injuries and disasters in the gorge.

  In the aftermath of the flash flood and drownings the National Weather Service tried to work more closely with the state park system to warn of impending heavy rainfalls. The warning level was lowered from 2 inches to one inch.   It was suggested that warning sirens be installed upstream from
the falls to provide some measure of forewarning of flash floods.    The state park service hired an extra ranger and on busy days would have additional staff present. 

         Sunday June 9, 2019 0.9 inches of rain fell resulting in another flash flood on the Blackburn Fork. A scarily similar situation played out at Cummins Falls where swimmers were trapped in the deep gorge with no quick route to higher ground and safety.   Two year old Steven Pierce of Kentucky was later found to have drowned.  He was with his  parents in the gorge, but he was not wearing a life jacket. They were not from the area and may well not have been aware of the dangers.    Lawmakers are looking into why the warning sirens were never installed in the nearly two year time period since the last flash flood.

       Stacy Reed, a friend of Lisa Hillian is calling for change to be made at Cummins Falls State Park owing to the drownings, and lack of action by the state in providing the promised early warning system.   It will be interesting to see what the TDEC's investigation turns up as the cause in the delay.
The state park will remain closed until the investigation is finished.   Stacy has started a petition to spur lawmakers into making the necessary changes to help Cummins Falls State Park be a safer place for people to enjoy.   She is not calling for the closing of the park, but safety measures to help prevent any further loss of life.   Her friend left behind an eight year old son at the time.    Steven Pierce was only two years old.  His life snuffed out in one terrifying instant.   How many people are going to have to die before something is done to effect change?   I am a believer in personal responsibility, but when a place like this is opened to the public as a state park there goes with it the sense of false security. It is viewed as a wholesome, beautiful place for family recreation.  While it is beautiful it is potentially deadly.  Nature is indifferent to whether we live or die. 

         Please click the link below and share it on Facebook or other social media to help bring change.
Thank you Stacy for stepping up to the plate. Let's hit it out of the park for Steven and his family. For Lisa and for Peggy McDaniel.   My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of each of these souls who was just trying to enjoy a happy time of recreation and fun.

Sign Stacy's Petition to Regulate Cummins Falls