Few People Know The Real Story Behind Kentucky’s Caves Becoming Tourist Attractions
By Will Suphan|Published February 20, 2024
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Will Suphan
Author
Will has been living in Arizona off and on for 30+ years in the Phoenix Metro and Tucson areas. He has traveled all over the state as well as having lived all over the Southwest. He's been writing for OnlyInYourState for one year and has previously written for Digital Journal. Will has a passion for travel and writing and combining the two is what he loves most. He loves solo international travel and has been to Thailand, France, Japan, and Cambodia.
Our fair state of Kentucky has a deep and complex history on so many issues, with rivalries, wars, economic booms and busts, and a complex path toward progress. We are often left with mixed narratives that may polarize people, yet exploring this history is worthwhile. Some things we simply enjoy as attractions today have their own nuanced histories, like the “Kentucky Cave Wars” that led to the development of places like Mammoth Cave.
Every year, thousands of people come to Kentucky to visit our magnificent caves, taking in their mystery, beauty, and geological intrigue. Yet, few people know that they are walking into places that were once fraught with intense rivalries.
Mammoth Cave opened for tourism in 1816. As it grew in popularity, some saw the opportunities that cave tourism could provide and some intensely ambitious people each wanted the biggest piece of the pie.
At first, entrepreneurs were simply trying to make some business for themselves, opening up smaller caves to tourism like Indian Cave, Hundred Dome Caves, and Diamond Caverns. This led to the caves being further explored and actually attracted a vast amount of geological discoveries and made the caves even more attractive to visit.
Soon, more underhanded and outright aggressive tactics were used as cave owners like George Morrison, Lyman Hazen, and Larkin Procter tried to mislead the public about their competition.
George Morrison found remote areas of Mammoth Cave and blew one end open with dynamite to create his own attraction after gaining rights to the land in that area. Others distributed misleading flyers to lure people from Mammoth Cave, spread rumors about it being dull and overhyped, and even set fire to the entrances of their rivals.
Things grew ever fiercer until 1925 when explorer Floyd Collins got trapped in Sand Cave. A nationally publicized rescue effort could not save him and public outcry about the tactics being used grew strong.
Eventually, the owners worked together to promote tourism of the caves as a whole, and Mammoth Cave National Park was established in 1941. Now, the focus is on the preservation and conservation of these wondrous caverns.
Were you aware of the Kentucky Cave Wars and how they influenced tourism in our Bluegrass State? Which is your favorite cave to visit? If you haven’t seen them all, get the family together and take a fun road trip to these beautiful places with your newfound understanding.
