Mammoth Cave National Park to honor Black History Month

MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. (WTVQ) — Mammoth Cave National Park is honoring Black History Month with ranger-led talks, guided walks, special videos and more throughout February.

“African Americans greatly contributed to the tourism, exploration, mapping, and development of Mammoth Cave throughout its over 200-year modern history. As some of the earliest guides and explorers of the cave in the 1800s, enslaved African Americans guided visitors through the mysterious cave passages and helped to shape Mammoth Cave into a renowned tourist destination that hundreds of thousands of people continue to visit today,” the national park said on Facebook.

Ranger-led talks will take place daily at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Central with additional talks on Saturdays and Sundays at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. all at the park’s visitor center. Rangers will discuss the significant contributions African Americans made to the cave and area throughout Mammoth Cave’s history.

A ranger-led hike to the Bransford Cemetery will begin at the visitor center at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, and on Saturday, Feb. 25. Rangers will discuss the history of the Bransford family.

Park rangers will also present two evening programs outside of the park at two local libraries. One on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. at the Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library in Glasgow and another on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Warren County Main Library in Bowling Green.

For more information, you can visit the park’s special event website at https://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/black-history-month-2023.htm?fbclid=IwAR0AmAnl60NMdSjQhbGv-bxgdK0QXBFSzPAp9JSJBr7YxRbVtK99CgAIpBQ.