Publication Date
Spring 2019
Advisor(s) - Committee Chair
Katie Algeo (Director), Margaret Gripshover, and Leslie North
Degree Program
Department of Geography and Geology
Degree Type
Master of Science
Abstract
The 52,830-acre Mammoth Cave National Park, located in the karst region of south-central Kentucky, was formally established in July of 1941, culminating nearly three decades of park creation that displaced several thousand residents of the region. This thesis sampled residents using the 1920 manuscript census for the United States Census of Population and Housing and tracked their migration destinations using the 1930 and 1940 manuscript censuses. Migration patterns for the entire sample, as well as by race and homeownership status, were identified through mapping. Out-migrants generally chose locations north, west, and east of the proposed park area, noticeably neglecting the Deep South. Statistical analyses proved significant differences between proportions of Black out-migrants and White out-migrants moving to urban areas, as well as those of homeowners and renters who were not successfully tracked during analysis. The research underlines unintended consequences of the forced out-migration from the proposed Mammoth Cave National Park and several factors that contributed to it. In the process, the thesis fills a gap in research on Mammoth Cave National Park and sheds light on an important aspect of Kentucky’s history.
Disciplines
Geographic Information Sciences | Human Geography | Migration Studies | Nature and Society Relations
Recommended Citation
Eke, Collins U., "Where Did They Go? Analysis of Out-Migration from Mammoth Cave National Park, 1920-1940" (2019). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 3111.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/3111
Included in
Geographic Information Sciences Commons, Human Geography Commons, Migration Studies Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons