Marina at Rowena, Lake Cumberland
“Rowena” was the name of a community located along the banks of the Cumberland River
prior to the construction of Wolf Creek Dam in 1952. The Steamboat “Rowena”, named after
this community, made frequent stops at Rowena Landing as it transported good and people
up and down the Cumberland River from Nashville, Tennessee up to Burnside, Kentucky. The
Rowena Ferry transported passengers across the river to and from the Rowena Community.
Construction of Wolf Creek Dam and the formation of Lake Cumberland in 1952 covered
the community of Rowena with water and eliminated the need for steamboat and ferry
transportation. However, the name “Rowena” still appears on modern lake maps on both
the North and South sides of Lake Cumberland near the route of the original Ferry. The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers clarifies this dual label by distinguishing between Rowena Landing
North and Rowena Landing South. In 1949, when The Army Corps was developing the Lake
Cumberland Master Plan, Rowena Landing South was designated as a “Strategic Site” for future
recreational development.
Tony Sloan and Tom Allen persevered through an arduous ten-year application and review
process culminating in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarding a 407-acre lease site, for
commercial concession purposes, to Marina @ Rowena, LLC on July 5, 2017. Marina @ Rowena
is currently under construction and Rowena Landing South where Kentucky Highway 558
ends in water just one mile north of the Clinton County/ Russell County Kentucky line. Marina
@ Rowena is the first new commercial marina development on Lake Cumberland in over 60
years. “Marina Rowena” is a much-needed project that will provide visitors and boaters a firstclass
marina facility while contributing critical and substantial economic benefit to the entire
Lake Cumberland Area.
History of “Rowena”
Legend has it that the owner of the closest house
to the Cumberland River at Rowena has a daughter
whose given name was Ena. She lived with her family
on the north bank of the river adjacent to both the
road and the river. She was a brave and fiery girl
who often rowed people across the river and her
passengers often said “row Ena” and later on everyone
called her “Rowena”, and the Rowena Community was
her namesake.
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