[2] Silver Cord Cascade was first described by members of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition as Silverthread Falls.

the wild, floating stories about falls 1,000 feet in height are no doubt exaggerations as applied to the main stream.

That there are small streams...that fall the distance of 1,000 feet or more, perpendicular, is true and such were seen by some of our party.Samuel Hauser and Benjamin Stickney, members of the Washburn Expedition are credited with the name Silverthread Falls.

In 1883, Philetus Norris, then park superintendent, renamed the falls Sliding Cascade.

However, in 1885 the official name, Silver Cord Cascade, was bestowed on the falls by the Arnold Hague Geological Survey.