The Caves of St. Louis have been important in the economic development of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The city was built upon a complex of natural caves which were once used for the lagering of beer by early German immigrant brewers. Caves are naturally cool, which was especially attractive to brewers before the advent of refrigeration.

Breweries

Several breweries were built atop these natural caves, which were altered to suit their purposes. Stone arches and brick ceilings prevented water seepage and uneven cave floors were paved with brick. In addition to being used for the storage and lagering of beer, such naturally cool places were sometimes employed as beer gardens, places for entertainment. John Adam Lemp, coming to St. Louis from Germany in 1838, started a brewery using natural caves for refrigeration. His son William J. Lemp took over the business and built the

Lemp Brewery The Lemp Brewery was a beer brewing company established in 1840 in St. Louis, Missouri that was acquired by the Griesedieck Beverage Company in 1920, which subsequently became the Falstaff Brewing Corporation. The brewery complex property consis ...

industrial complex which still stands in St. Louis.Lemp Mansion
The

Lemp Mansion The Lemp Mansion (3322 DeMenil Place, St. Louis, Missouri) is a historical house in Benton Park, St. Louis, Missouri. It is also the site of three suicides by Lemp family members after the death of the son Frederick Lemp, whose William J. Lemp B ...

was constructed by the Lemp Family and included a tunnel through the natural cave system leading to the Lemp Brewery. The Lemp Family would use this tunnel to go to work.

Underground Railroad

An oral tradition in St. Louis links the cave system with the Underground Railroad. According to this tradition a tunnel behind the house at 3314 Lemp Avenue was used as a secret entrance to the caves. One entrance to the caves opens near the Mississippi River, where the

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

could make their way to freedom.

Cherokee Caves

Cherokee Caves The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

was one attempt to turn the caves near the Lemp Brewery into a commercial attraction. They were closed and the site was demolished to make way for the construction of Interstate 55.Cherokee Cave
/ref> In January 2019, th
Missouri Speleological Survey
printed th
History of Lemp Brewery Caverns and Cherokee Cave

Entrances

Old caves were often filled with rubble from the demolished buildings above them. Therefore, there may be many homes and houses currently built above entrances to the old system of caves which have since been filled in with rubble. The Lemp caves or Cherokee caves still exist. The original cave was around 24,000 feet walkable. After the construction of Interstate 55 there were about 22,000 feet of the cave remaining, but not open to the public.

Bibliography

* ''The Lost Caves of St. Louis'' * ''Caves of Missouri''

References

External Links (further reading)

St. Louis Public Library - Caves of St. LouisPeople's Weekly World - Underground RailroadDismantling 3314 Lemp SiteHistory of Lemp Brewery Caverns and Cherokee Cave
{{St. Louis, Missouri Geography of St. Louis Caves of Missouri