134-4 The Geoheritage of US Show Caves: An Evolution in Perspective

Session: Crossing Boundaries: Histories of Geoheritage

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The geoheritage of US show caves crosses multiple boundaries, from Indigenous use, resource extraction, scientific research, Cold War nuclear shelters, and public recreation. Magical and mysterious, caves beckoned Indigenous people long before their ‘discovery’ by European American settlers. Caves served as shelters, and then as a source for gunpowder’s saltpeter that accumulated from bat guano. Scientific research accompanied cave discovery, though early data were often collected by cave enthusiasts without scientific backgrounds. Research potential for archaeologists, biologists, geologists, and eventually climatologists gained momentum after the 1941 establishment of the National Speleological Society. However, the cave geotourism movement had the largest impact on US show caves and the public’s perception. Caves captivated well-to-do American tourists, who traveled by stagecoach in the 1800s, and then by train to reach them. Automobile travel and its increased public mobility coincided with a realization that tourist dollars could make a difference for poor landowners in rural Appalachia. The 1920s Kentucky Cave Wars documented ruthless behavior for show cave tourism, as well as cave exploration risks. Floyd Collins became trapped in 1925 while preparing Sand Cave for commercialization; the public followed the rescue attempts for two weeks until his body was located. In 1927, the new owners of Crystal Cave put Collins’ body on tourist display, where it remained—excepting an early theft and recovery of the corpse—until the cave became part of Mammoth Cave National Park in 1961. Ironically, the Collins family previously owned Crystal Cave; it was their failed first attempt to commercialize a cave in the area. Much of the earlier histories—Indigenous use, gunpowder resources, scientific research, and tourism history—is highlighted during commercial cave tours today, providing visitors with a glimpse into the evolution of US show cave perspectives.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-7682

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