Since the earliest exploration of the area, travelers used the Tennessee River to reach the Ohio River. They soon discovered that the Cumberland River emptied into the Ohio shortly before the Tennessee and that the two rivers ran parallel for many miles.
This tract of land became known as the Land Between the Rivers, and in the late 1800s, a booming iron refining process developed in the area.
During the Civil War, General Ulysses Grant brought a flotilla down the Tennessee River to storm Fort Henry. After that successful assault, he put his troops ashore and had them march across this land to the Cumberland on his way to Fort Donelson. His gunboats made the trip around the rivers to provide artillery support for that attack. The fall of these two forts allowed the Union to ship supplies on the two rivers.
Initial studies for a dam and lock near the mouth of the Tennessee River were made at a site called Aurora Landing. Those studies presented many difficulties in building at Aurora Landing and resulted in the selection of the dam's present location.
For a time, there was strong opposition to the Kentucky Dam project in Congress. Those problems were eventually solved, allowing Kentucky Lock and Dam to act as the gateway to the Tennessee River.
Today, with the formation of Lake Barkley on the Cumberland, the area once known as the Land Between the Rivers is now the Land Between the Lakes. It has been developed into an extensive recreational area. For more information, visit the Tennessee Valley Authority Kentucky Reservoir web page.