In early 1904, Joplin took a brief trip to Arkansas to visit relatives. After stopping off in Sedalia, MO, Joplin returned to St. Louis just in time for the opening of the St. Louis World's Fair on April 30. One of the main attractions of the Fair was the Cascades Garden, a series of artificial waterfalls, rapids, lagoons, and fountains that ran down the main thoroughfare. In quick time, Joplin composed the rag The Cascades, which was published soon thereafter and was heard often at the Fair itself in subsequent weeks. Joplin's publisher, John Stark—a man often given to enthusiasm and high-flown language—labeled this rag "The Masterpiece of Scott Joplin" on the cover of its sheet music. In an advertisement he continued: "Hear it, and you can fairly feel the earth wave under your feet. It is as high-class as Chopin and is creating a great sensation among musicians."

Dedicated to the now-unknown banjo players Kimball and Donovan, The Cascades is another of Joplin's works which bears a bit of a resemblance to his biggest hit, The Maple Leaf Rag. In particular, the first two melodies are roughly patterned after the equivalent sections in Maple Leaf. But The Cascades has its own charm: it is an extroverted and tuneful work, and its lighthearted opening strain has a lilting, music box quality which some have heard as an evocation of the flowing waters of the Cascades Garden.

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