NPS Photo/ #maca_30629 The Tourism Legacy Continues Road signs for Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave and Great Onyx Cave. Unfortunately for the Collins family, owners of Great Crystal Cave, their business had neither advantage. If a cave business couldn’t employee cappers to draw tourists to their location, then a cave had to be conveniently located along the road. When that proved to be insufficient, solicitors (called “cave cappers” because of the hats they commonly wore) were hired to line the highways, draw motorists to their booths, and give “official cave information” intended to lure travelers to their cave of employment. The Mammoth Cave Estate, the New Entrance, and others relied more and more on reaching visitors as they drove to the cave region and depended on increased signage to get their attention. NPS Photo/ #maca_30333B Luring Travelers InĪs the war erupted in the courtroom over Morrison’s use of the name, “Mammoth Cave,” the fighting also moved to the roadsides. The sign on the stand reads "Official Cave Information." Circa 1940. Solicitors for the Great Onyx Operating Committee at work. By the onset of the American Civil War, several cave businesses such as Diamond Caverns, Indian Cave, and Hundred Domes Cave had opened to the public and were offering visitors a compliment to their Mammoth Cave experience with a trip into their smaller, showier caves. Operating a successful cave business was also an attractive proposition for local landowners, as it had the potential to be much more lucrative than farming the rocky soils of the area’s ridges. Smaller caves with an abundance of stalactites, stalagmites, and other speleothems could provide visitors to the region an alternative to the long underground treks through immense, dry passages typically experienced at Mammoth Cave. As communities sprang up around Mammoth Cave, other caves were discovered, some with commercial potential. Lee, USGS, 1925 Finding Potentialĭiscoveries made around Mammoth Cave in the mid-nineteenth century created opportunities for enterprising cavers, landowners, and businessmen. There are some beautiful unique spots, and we look forward visiting again.Willis T. Due to the coolness in the cave it wasn't difficult to do the whole tour with our favecovering on. Everyone wore masks, and noone seemed to be bothered by this. Go to see the cave, and learn a little cave humor. It is family owned, and the tour guide included each person in our small group. My favorite part about this place was how it was not so busy, and we didnt feel like tourists. (Which also sold disposal masks) The cave tour itself is kid friendly and a very nice thing to do during the really hot days we've been having, it stays about 60☏ in the cave and is not a long trek to get into the cool area. There is a little affordable rock/souvenir shop that reminded me of being her age. They had a decent sized outdoor seating area with little games to pass time while waiting for the tour and a sink with soap to wash your hands with plenty of sanitizer placed around. Luckily for us this spot has yet to be taken over by the huge crowds that we've seen in places like Lost River and Mammoth. My little one loves being outdoors, so we surprised her with a little trip to Crystal Onyx Cave. In depth review: We've been wanting to do a cave tour, but social distancing has been a priority in our life right now. GOOD FOR ALL AGES! Social distance friendly, family owned, affordable. Hope to see them gain some attention, especially with how nice the owners have set up the cave paths. I don't know why this cave isn't more well known in our area, but for the time being I'm happy it was. This is a long winded review, but summed it up in the first paragraph.
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