Nov. 18th, 1967

• Supreme Court Justice Willam O. Douglas participates in Red River Gorge Dam protest

December 3, 1993

• President Bill Clinton signs bill designating a 19.4 mile section of the Red River as Kentucky's first and only Federally protected National Wild and Scenic River

Oct. 8th, 2013

• In response to the “Coal Collapse” of Kentucky’s Economy, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce commissions a California based company, AECOM, to conduct a feasibility study on the Tourism Potential Eastern Kentucky.

• “Tell us if there could be a well planned Gatlinburg in Eastern Kentucky,” says Jim Booth, serving as chair of the organization at the time.

• The study unconventionally defines Eastern Kentucky as all counties south of I-64 and west of I-75, excluding Lexington metropolitan area, concentrating attention on the Red River Gorge as the most convenient and appealing location for the project. 

April 26, 2017 

• Project continues to gain momentum; Commissioned by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce,  HVS (Hospitality Valuation Services) publishes a Destination Resort and Tourism Assessment  on the RRG area.  

Oct 30, 2018  

• Red River Economic Development (RRED) Forms as a non-profit arm of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

• Made up of four Kentucky Bank Presidents, Jim Host, Judge executives of the surrounding counties to the Gorge.

• Organization releases a Concept Paper to apply for an ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission) grant for the project.

• Focusing on 891 acres in Slade, the concept paper calls for 150-175 room resort, a themed village and an indoor recreational feature, a large outdoor water feature, and possible gaming among other prospects. 

 July 1st, 2019

• RRED receives $500,000 from (ARC), with a matching grant of $500,000 from the Coal Severance Tax of the State Of Kentucky.

• With these funds secured, members of RRED considered the project real. It was no longer just a “pipe dream,” according to David Adkisson, former CEO of the Kentucky Chamber, project manager of RRED at the time.

August 2019 

RRED requests proposals for a Master Plan for the destination resort.

September 2019 

• RRED receives thirteen proposals for Master plan contract.

Oct. 17, 2019

• RRED releases plans for the first time to the general public.

• “Everyone wants to see an area grow, right? But you want to see it grow in a responsible way," co-owner of Miguel's Pizza, Dario Ventura tells Lex-18.

Oct 18th, 2019

Despite having been in the works for six years, received a $1 million, 13 proposals form planning firms, and having said earlier “we have this grant, and we’d like to purse this,” David Akisson tells the Louisville Courier, “It’s not a project yet.”

• “Clearly, here today, we are to ask for community engagement.” 

Oct. 19th 2019

Red River Gorge United (RRGU) forms as a community response to proposed Gatlinburg-Style Development.

• Petition to “Help Save the Red River Gorge” circulates ultimately gaining over 43,500 signatures.

• As one Kentucky signer put it:

  “We don’t want [it] to be Gatlinburg. We want [it] to be the Red River Gorge. The people that love the Gorge don't go to shop outlet malls, stay in fancy resorts, or eat [sic] at olive garden. They go to experience the beauty, peace, and tranquility that this truly one-of-a-kind place provides. A few dollars in tax revenue is not worth selling out our people and Kentucky's soul.”
  

February 4th, 2019.

 May 4, 2020

• Plans for tourism engine continues despite world-wide pandemic. 

June 18th, 2020 

• First town hall meeting (Virtual) Part one, Part two 

July 28th, 2020

• Second town hall meeting (Virtual) Part one, Part two

August 18th, 2020

• Third Town Hall meeting  (Virtual) Part one,  Part two

September 29th, 2020 

Fourth Town Hall meeting (Virtual), Part one, Part two

Jan 17, 2020

• RRED signs $769,000 contract with Stantec, a Canadian-based architectural company, to produce a master plan for the resort.

Feb 1st, 2020

• Over 50 people attended RRGU’s first community meeting sharing their thoughts, opinions, and dreams about the future of the Red River Gorge region.

September 29, 2020  

• RRED releases Stantec’s regional tourism plan.

March 31, 2021 

Board members David Adkinson, Charles Beech, and Elmer Whitaker privately invest and purchase the 891 acres from Teal for approximately 2.25 million. Adkinson tells the Lexington Herald Leader that his role was vetted by lawyers for “potential conflicts of interests.”

 April 8, 2021

Owners of the property, Adkinson, Beech and Whitaker resign from RRED board.  “We wanted to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interests” says Jean Hale regarding the change.

Oct. 17th, 2024

• At the Soar Summit (Shaping Our Appalachian Region) Elmer Whitaker of Whitaker Bank insists that the resort is coming, like it or not.

• Despite three years of silence and a no longer functioning website, Whitaker insists that they’ve been transparent with the public on every step of the journey.

Oct 7th 2025.

Resort or no, RRGU takes action, completing necessary steps to become a land trust, joining the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) a member organization of 800+ other land trust across the country.

Nov. 1st 2025

• RRGU officially launches the $1 For 1²ft campaign raising funds to purchase the most critical habitats and pieces of private property in the RRG.