Cummins Falls is a scenic site on the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River, a tributary of the Roaring River State Scenic River, which flows into the Cumberland River/Cordell Hull Watershed. It is the eighth-largest waterfall in Tennessee by volume of water and is regarded as one of the best swimming holes in North America. John Cummins acquired this land about 1830, and from 1845 to 1928 it was the location of the historic Cummins Mill. The Cummins family owned the land continuously for more than 180 years, and its availability was facilitated by fifth-generation owners Carl, James, and David Cummins. The Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation acquired Cummins Falls by recruiting conservation buyers Dr. Glenn Hall, Mary Lynn Dobson, and Robert D. McCaleb to temporarily secure the land, and through fundraising by the foundation, support from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, and a partnership with the State of Tennessee, it was purchased and designated as a public park in 2011 by Governor Bill Haslam.