The Cumberland River, which enters Tennessee from the mountains of Kentucky to the northeast, flows westward across Sumner County en route to the Nashville area.

Artifacts dating to the Paleo-Indian and Archaic periods have been found in the park's vicinity, and a substantial Mississippian-period (c. 1000-1500 A.D.) village was located at nearby Castalian Springs.

Between 1769 and 1772, a large group of long hunters were active in the Upper Cumberland region, among them Kasper Mansker and Isaac Bledsoe (c. 1735–1794).

Colonel Anthony Bledsoe (1739–1788), an older brother of Isaac, reported to the governor of North Carolina that 14 settlers had been killed in 1786 alone.

Bickering among the county commissioners delayed the establishment of the city for several years, and they eventually decided to place the seat in Gallatin.

In 1799, General James Winchester (1752–1826) and William Cage, Jr. purchased 150 acres (0.61 km2) immediately south of Ziegler's Fort at the confluence of Bledsoe's Creek and the Cumberland River for the establishment of a town.

The death of Winchester in 1826 and the improvement and shift of the main road between Knoxville and Nashville away from Sumner, however, led to Cairo's eventual decline.

[8] Bledsoe Creek State Park maintains a 77-site campground, two boat ramps, a wedding venue and two picnic shelters along with several playground areas.

The park also has a designated wildlife observation deck in the day use picnic area on Raccoon Creek Lane.

The History Trail begins across from Blue Heron Drive and runs parallel to Main Park Road with a permanent recreation long hunter encampment and trade cabin display.

Funds from Tennessee's Iris License Plate project have helped with the installation of a pollinator garden at the Visitor Center.