HOWDY
In 1811 storm clouds of war with England were gathering
over unresolved territorial issues from the Revolutionary War. A junction of several stagecoach roads in south central Kentucky
was intersected by a road that led eight miles away to Flatt’s Cave. The British embargo of American ports led to a
shortage and inflated price of saltpeter. The dry sediments in Flatt’s Cave, soon named “Mammoth Cave,”
were a valued source of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), necessary for the production of gunpowder. One and a half miles north of the road junction, named Three Forks, saltpeter
was also being mined in Short Cave and nearby Long Cave, on the west side of a long deep sinkhole valley. Underneath this
valley, and undiscovered at this time, was a beautiful cave that later became known as Diamond Caverns.
HELP
IS IT UP THERE?
HEY THERE HAVE THEY THE NEW
By 1859, Three Forks was a sleepy village with 75 inhabitants. It was universally known as Bell’s
Tavern for the town’s famous hotel, and was the departure point for the eight mile trip to Mammoth Cave. Most people
of means stayed at Bell’s Tavern, revered for its peach and honey brandy, and then traveled by horseback or stagecoach
on the single lane rutted road to Mammoth Cave to tour the world famous attraction. One and a half miles north of Bell’s
Tavern, very near the road to Mammoth Cave, a slave of landowner Jessie Coats discovered a pit in the rocky bottom of the
valley on July 14, 1859. Lowered on a rope into the cave, this first visitor thought sparkling calcite formations resembled
diamonds, and the name for the cave was born. The
next day, a survey team entered the cave, descending rope ladders to assess the new discovery. Steps were built into the Rotunda
and beyond, and a building was constructed to protect the entrance. The cave has remained remarkably pristine because of the
conservation efforts that occurred immediately after the cave was discovered. A newspaper article in the Louisville Daily Courier from August 19, 1859 describes the discovery and early
history of the cave, referring to it as “Richardson Cave,” named for one of the original explorers. After a month
of work developing the cave for tours, on August 19, 1859 the Kennedy Bridal Party was the first to enjoy the newly opened
show cave. Except for short periods during the Civil War, the cave has been shown as an attraction for over 147 years.
In 1854 the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad reached Three Forks. A branch line was laid to the nearby town of Glasgow. Thereafter, the town was
named Glasgow Junction, and much more recently, Park City. The arrival of the railroad brought many more visitors to Diamond
and Mammoth Caves.The original owner of Bell’s
Tavern, William Bell, left the tavern to his son, Robert, and daughter-in-law, Maria Gorin Bell. Maria’s father, Franklin
Gorin, was a Glasgow lawyer and early owner of Mammoth Cave. After Robert Bell’s death, Maria married a prominent widowed
local landowner, George Proctor. In addition to running Bell’s Tavern with his wife, George showed Diamond Cave to travelers.
At the same time, his brother, Larkin Proctor, managed the Mammoth Cave Hotel, and also owned the stage line that served Bell’s
Tavern, Diamond Cave, and Mammoth Cave. On December 12, 1859 Maria Proctor’s uncle, Joseph Rogers Underwood, a renowned
Bowling Green lawyer and senator, bought Diamond Cave and 156 acres from Jesse Coats for $1,200.00. In addition to owning
the Diamond Cave property, Underwood was also the managing trustee of the Mammoth Cave Estate, responsible for making Mammoth
Cave a commercial success. The Civil War effectively
shut down visitation to Diamond Cave, as well as to Mammoth Cave. Guerrilla raids, use of the railroads for military purposes,
and dreadful economic conditions ended tourist travel on the roads and railroads. Cave visitation remained stagnant in an
impoverished nation after the Civil War. Expansion
of the railroads following recovery from the war led to increased tourism and development of other show caves in the region.
Maria Gorin Bell Proctor’s stepson, John R. Proctor, bought Diamond Cave from Joseph Rogers Underwood for $1,472.00
in 1867. John and his father, George, continued to develop the cave. Two editions of a guidebook were printed, and numerous
articles were published on the cave. John R. Proctor speculated in land and failed to settle personal debts and pay taxes
on his extensive land holdings.
On April 21, 1879 Seth B. Shackleford purchased Diamond Cave
for $1475.00 at the Edmonson County courthouse steps. Proctor moved on to a distinguished career in public service, becoming
Kentucky’s state geologist and a prominent federal civil servant.There was a close relationship between Mammoth Cave and Diamond Cave for years. Books and cave brochures
would describe both caves. Beginning in 1880, the Mammoth Cave Railroad tracks were laid just west of Diamond Cave. When the
line finally opened in 1886, Diamond was one of the primary stops on the railroad. Excursions were available to see Diamond
and Mammoth Caves on the same day, and still return to Glasgow Junction in time to catch through trains to Louisville or Nashville.
Mammoth Cave Railroad stops also served two nearby caves opened by Larkin Proctor, Long Cave, commercialized as Grand Avenue
Caverns, and Proctor Cave.
On June 11, 1900 J. B. Hatcher acquired Diamond Cave from Seth Shackelford’s Estate for $500.00.
Two days later, G.T. Parker bought the cave from Hatcher for the same amount. Railroad travel brought more cave visitors,
but only Mammoth Cave had national fame. Louisville and Nashville Railroad owned and promoted Colossal Cave east of Mammoth
Cave, but there were few visitors. Indian Cave, Grand Avenue Cave, Proctor Cave and Diamond Cave were visited by those who
sought caves with stalactites, stalagmites and other cave formations. Mammoth Cave’s extensive avenues were practically
devoid of cave formations. During this period visitation to landmarks in the eastern United States was declining because of
the development of national parks, and the continual discovery of spectacular natural features in the American West. Regional tourism changed abruptly in 1904 when the first
automobile braved the bad roads and arrived at Mammoth Cave. After the First World War, tourism accelerated, with many visiting
the Kentucky cave region.
WOMANS VOICE "HELLO"
GET OUT
In 1921, an oil driller named George Morrison
forced another entrance into Mammoth Cave. Competition between historic Mammoth Cave and Morrison’s “New Entrance
to Mammoth Cave” led to vigorous competition among cave owners inciting the “cave wars” for tourists visiting
the region. During the 1920’s, as many
as 17 show caves were open, including Diamond Cave. Vandalism from competitors resulted in destruction of formations in many
caves, including some damage in Diamond Cave. Visitors arriving by personal automobiles on better roads also expected improved,
more convenient cave trips. Electric lights were installed in Diamond Cave in 1917, using a Delco generator. In 1924, cave
manager Cal Rogers replaced the original wooden staircase with a concrete staircase, and constructed the concrete bridge beyond
the Rotunda around the edge of Onyx Pit.A turning
point in the history of Diamond Caverns occurred February 8, 1924 when Amos Fudge, a Toledo, Ohio, businessman and his son-in-law,
Reverend Elwood A. Rowsey purchased Diamond Cave from G. T. Parker for $7,000.00.
THAT THING THAT THING
YOU!
SOME TRUE ROCKS CAN HURT
Over the next 50 years the powerful personality
of Dr. Rowsey, who was a Methodist minister with a doctorate in theology, elevated Diamond Cave from a local show cave into
a regional feature of importance. Fudge and Rowsey sought additional investors in the cave, built cabins, enlarged the lodge,
and improved the electrical system in the cave. The
death of Floyd Collins in Sand Cave in February, 1925 brought worldwide attention to Mammoth Cave and the surrounding caves.
An act of Congress in 1926 authorized the establishment of Mammoth Cave National Park. The park was established in 1941 and
formally dedicated in 1946. Until 1936, Diamond
Cave tours ended at the Diamond Grotto or Queen’s Den. In that year, guides discovered a continuation of the cave’s
main canyon beyond the Queen’s Den, doubling the length of the visitor’s tour. More cave passages were discovered
beyond Frankenstein’s Staircase, and were briefly included on the cave tour. In December, 1936 disaster struck when
the lodge burned to the ground, washing extensive amounts of soot into the cave.
On September 5, 1942 Dr. Rowsey became the sole cave owner,
and changed the name to Diamond Caverns. Cave explorers of the fledgling National Speleological Society organized an expedition
to Diamond Caverns and surrounding caves in October, 1942. The Toledo, Ohio, cavers surveyed the cave and produced the first
map incorporating discoveries made since 1936. From the 1940’s on, Dr. Rowsey and his son, Elwood (Woody), and then
Dr. Rowsey’s niece, Jan Alexander McDaniel and her husband, Vernon, ran the cave property and adjoining campground through
very busy years. Under Rowsey’s leadership the cave became a destination resort with hotel rooms, restaurant, and pool,
in a period of nationwide expansion of campgrounds and outdoor recreation. Interstate 65 was completed through the cave region
in the late 1960’s, bringing more cave visitors to the Mammoth Cave region, but also leading to motorists spending less
time in the area. Jan and Vernon McDaniel managed
the cave and campground after Dr. Rowsey’s death in 1973.
On March 20,
1976 a tornado hit the Diamond Caverns KOA Campground, Park City, and Diamond Caverns. The north portion of the Colonial Lodge
was damaged and removed, leading to the current appearance of the lodge. Moyer Enterprises purchased the Diamond Caverns Resort from the McDaniels in 1982, with ownership being
later transferred to an investor group as a private membership resort. In 1993, Ronald C. Eken and his BullEk Corporation
purchased Diamond Caverns Resort and a nearby public campground named Cedar Hills. BullEk purchased an adjacent eighteen hole
golf course called Park Place in 1994, incorporating it into the expanding resort. Diamond Caverns received less promotion
as the emphasis changed from a show cave to a large resort with many facets. Five cavers and their wives, Gary and Susan Berdeaux, Larry and Mayo McCarty, Roger and Carol McClure,
Stanley and Kay Sides, and Gordon and Judy Smith purchased the cave property on July 7, 1999 intent on enhancing the cave
as a historic commercial attraction and developing a national museum for the show cave industry. After an owners’ meeting
three months later, Stanley Sides and Gordon Smith began removing rocks from a crevice in the backyard. The bottom fell out
to subsequently reveal a shaft leading to 250 feet of cave passages not yet connected to Diamond Caverns. The next day, October
9, 1999 Cave Research Foundation cavers Dave West, Karen Willmes, Joyce Hoffmaster and Joanne Jones enlarged a low crawlway
dig Gary Berdeaux and Gordon Smith had begun under Diamond Cavern’s Rotunda room. Three hours of claustrophobic digging
in a constricted crawlway resulted in the discovery of several hundred feet of beautifully decorated virgin passages including
the largest room yet found in Diamond Caverns. This New Discovery remains undeveloped and pristine with restricted access. Today, historic Diamond Caverns is the second oldest show
cave in the Central Kentucky Cave Region, and fourth oldest operating commercial cave in the United States. The passages have
been altered little despite a rich one hundred forty year history of visitors enjoying the best decorated show cave in the
State of Kentucky. Diamond Caverns is within the Mammoth Cave Are International Biosphere Reserve and is surrounded by Mammoth
Cave National Park, a World Heritage Site.
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