Throwback Thursday: The Bransford Family Legacy at Mammoth Cave

We continue Black History Month with a Mammoth Cave story. In a throwback a
couple of years ago, we shared the story of Stephen Bishop, the first cave tour guide, an
African American who was born into slavery. This week, we talk more about the Bransfords, a
Black family with five generations of cave staff.

The first of the Bransford family to be a cave tour guide was Mat, who was brought
to the cave as a slave in 1838, and one of its very first tour guides. Though slavery
ended after the Civil War, Mat decided to continue living at Mammoth Cave, working
as both a tour guide and explorer. The Bransford family continued living at the cave
until 1941 when the National Park Service removed all Black tour guides from its
staff.

Twenty years ago, a Mammoth Cave researcher named Joy Lyons was hiking in the
park and accidentally found the old Bransford family cemetery. There were 42
headstones buried amidst nature. A group cleaned up the cemetery and groups a
half-mile hiking trail to lead park visitors to visit the sacred place.

Then in 2004, Mat Bransford’s great-great-grandson, Jerry, returned to the cave as the
fifth generation Bransford to continue the family’s service as a cave tour guide.

Back in October 2022, the National Park Service held a special dedication and new
monument reveal at Mammoth Cave, dedicated to the Bransford family and all its
contributions to the park. The new monument sits at the old family cemetery near
where the family used to live in the park. There are four generations of Bransfords
buried there. Family from all over the country attended the ceremony.

Jerry rang a bell at the cemetery five times, one for each generation of the family
who worked at Mammoth Cave. The monument has the faces of both Mat and Nicholas
Bransford on it, along with all the family members who dedicated their lives to the
cave.

That’s all for Throwback Thursday this week, brought to you by Hart County Tourism and The Kentucky Museum.