Cumberland Caverns is a

national natural landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

and

show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

located in

McMinnville, Tennessee McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,605 at the 2010 census. It was named for Governor Joseph McMinn. Geography McMinnville is located at (35.686708, -85.779309) ...

. It is the second longest

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and makes the list of longest caves in the United States and in the world.

History

The main entrance was discovered by Aaron Higgenbotham in 1810 while he was surveying the nearby Chickamauga Trail on Cardwell Mountain in what is now

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

. According to legend, Higgenbotham was the first man to enter the cave and it was named Higgenbotham Cave in his honor. Another smaller cave, also located on Cardwell Mountain, was also discovered about this time and was named Henshaw Cave. Although not nearly as big as Higgenbotham Cave, Henshaw Cave proved to be a source of

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrat ...

(the main ingredient of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

) and was operated as a saltpeter mine during perhaps both the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Higgenbotham Cave became a favorite spot for local adventurers during the 19th century and groups would ride out to the entrance in hay wagons and make the strenuous trip to a point in the cave now known as the Ten Acre Room. In the days of the hay wagon parties, it was called the Big Room. Here, many visitors left their names and the date candled on the ceiling. In the early 1940s, members of the

National Speleological Society The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally headquartered in Washington D.C., its current offices are in H ...

(NSS) began to explore Higgenbotham Cave. Within a decade, they had greatly increased the known extent of the cave. In 1953 a connection was discovered between Henshaw Cave and Higgenbotham Cave. This connection was named the Meatgrinder because of its small size and shape. Soon afterwards, some of these explorers leased the cave from its owner, Mr. Andy Powell, and developed it into a commercial cave. The cave opened under the name Cumberland Caverns on July 4, 1956 and has been open to the public since that time. A portion of the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

passes through Cumberland Caverns property. A walking trail is open to the public.

Commerce

The Cumberland Caverns company offers year-round commercial tours of the cave, claiming it is the largest show cave in Tennessee. Tours include a daytime walking tour, spelunking tours, overnight tours, and educational

field trips A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment. When done for students, as it happens in several school systems, it is also known as school trip in the United Kingdom, UK, Australia, ...

. Weddings, banquets, and

birthday parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

are also hosted. Before reaching the cave, tourists pass through a

gift shop A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collect ...

that sells tour tickets, souvenirs, and novelty items.

Cumberland Caverns Live

Cumberland Caverns was formerly home to Bluegrass Underground, a monthly music event that took place in the cave's Volcano Room. The event has become a nationally syndicated program airing on PBS. Now, the Volcano Room is home t
Cumberland Caverns Live
and hosts a variety of concerts and live music, including acts like Sister Hazel,

Kip Moore Kipling Christian Moore (born April 2, 1980) is an American country music singer and songwriter signed to MCA Nashville. He has released a total of four studio albums for the label: '' Up All Night'', '' Wild Ones'', ''Slowheart'', and '' Wild ...

, and

Deer Tick (band) Deer Tick is an American alternative rock-folk band from Providence, Rhode Island, composed of singer-songwriter John J. McCauley, guitarist Ian O'Neil, bassist Christopher Ryan and drummer Dennis Ryan. The band's music has been described as roc ...

Geology

Cumberland Caverns formed in Mississippian Monteagle limestone on the western

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

of the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms "Alle ...

. The cave is home to

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

helictite A helictite is a speleothem (cave-formed mineral) found in a limestone cave that changes its axis from the vertical at one or more stages during its growth. Helictites have a curving or angular form that looks as if they were grown in zero grav ...

flowstone Flowstones are sheetlike deposits of calcite or other carbonate minerals, formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution caves", in limestone, where they are the most common speleothe ...

cave pearl A cave pearl is a small, usually spherical, speleothem (cave formation) found in limestone caves. Cave pearls are formed by a concretion of calcium salts that form concentric layers around a nucleus. Exposure to moving water polishes the surface ...

botryoidal A botryoidal ( ) texture or mineral habit, is one in which the mineral has an external form composed of many rounded segments, named for the Ancient Greek (), meaning "a bunch of grapes".Adjective form: ''botruoeidēs'' This is a common form fo ...

coral,

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...

flowers, needles, and pure white gypsum snow, as well as a variety of cave life. Formations of interest within the cavern include: * the "Volcano Room," where many of the cave's commercial events are hosted. * "Monument Pillar," a large

formation. * "Crystal Palace," which contains crystals and

flowers. * three

spelunking Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is ...

tunnels known as "the Dragon's Back" due to their winding spine-like walkways. * the "Lemon Squeeze," so named because its widest point is only . * "Bubblegum Alley," a passageway similar in size to the Lemon Squeezer but with damper ground that makes it sticky. * "the Hall of the Mountain King," whose dimensions of long by wide by tall make it one of the largest cave rooms in eastern North America. * "Ball's Pit," named for Donald Ball, who died from falling into the pit in the 1950's.

Popular culture

The 1985 movie '' What Waits Below'' was filmed in Cumberland Caverns. A Children's Education DVD by singer/songwriter Buddy Davis "Amazing Adventures: Extreme Caving" was filmed in Cumberland Caverns

References

External links

Cumberland Caverns Official SiteBluegrass Underground Official Site
{{authority control Caves of Tennessee Landforms of Warren County, Tennessee Music venues in Tennessee Show caves in the United States Tourist attractions in Warren County, Tennessee National Natural Landmarks in Tennessee Mines in Tennessee