Longhorn Cavern State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

located in Burnet County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

is administrator of the facility. The land for Longhorn Cavern State Park was acquired between 1932 and 1937 from private owners. It was dedicated as a state park in 1932 and in 1938 was opened to the public. In 1971, the cavern was dedicated as 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 ...

. The park's administration building was listed as a

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the sta ...

in 1989.

Human history

The park is named for Longhorn Cavern, a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

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 ...

formed by the cutting action of an underground river that receded thousands of years ago. Before the cave became a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

, it was used over the years by Native Americans,

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s and

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

s, including outlaw Sam Bass. Sam Bass's story is considered folklore and not verified fact. In the late 1920s and early 30s the cavern was used by area residents as a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

with shows being broadcast via radio back to San Antonio. Performing musicians would entertain through the night. The popular spot was known as Sherrard's Cave before it was dedicated as Longhorn Cavern State Park in November 1933. From 1934 to 1942, Company 854 of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

constructed Texas Park Road 4, residences,

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s and an

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

in the

National Park Service Rustic National Park Service rustic – sometimes colloquially called Parkitecture – is a style of architecture that developed in the early and middle 20th century in the United States National Park Service (NPS) through its efforts to create buildings ...

architectural style. They also explored the cavern and made it accessible by removing some 2.5 tons of silt, debris, and guano and building stairs and walkways both into and inside the cavern. In 2006, Steven Kurtz, curator of Longhorn Cavern State Park, re-introduced chamber music to the cave with the creation of the Simple Sounds concert series. The return of chamber music was featured on an episode of

Bob Phillips Robert Leon Phillips, known as Bob Phillips (born June 23, 1951), is an American television journalist best known for his long-running program ''Texas Country Reporter''. In 2005, Phillips was inducted into the Silver Circle of the Lone Star Ch ...

' syndicated

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Texas Country Reporter ''Texas Country Reporter'' is a weekly syndicated television program, hosted and produced by Bob Phillips and Kelli Phillips, which airs in all twenty-two Texas media markets, generally on weekends, and nationally on the satellite/cable channel ...

'', with Kaye Barlow as the travel guide. Not until February 14, 2008, did dancers return to the cave floor when local Burnet County band Redneck Jedi performed. On April 4, 2008, Redneck Jedi returned to the cave and recorded their fifth album, ''Unplugged and Underground'', the first such recording inside the cave. In 2008,

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of ''The Iron Gi ...

hosted an after party for the premiere of ''

City of Ember ''City of Ember'' is a 2008 American science fantasy adventure film based on the 2003 novel ''The City of Ember'' by Jeanne DuPrau. Directed by Gil Kenan in his live-action directorial debut, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill ...

''. In 2012, the cavern tour area received a new lighting system. In 2019, the cavern was used as a filming location for the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

interactive series ''

A Heist with Markiplier ''A Heist with Markiplier'' is a 2019 interactive comedy heist television special written and directed by Mark Fischbach, better known by his online pseudonym Markiplier. The film stars Fischbach, as well as Rosanna Pansino, Matthew Patrick, an ...

''.

Nature

The caverns were once home to a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats, but now they are only inhabited by tricolored bats. There is over a mile of nature trails in the park which are home to a wide variety of birds, including the endangered

golden-cheeked warbler The golden-cheeked warbler (''Setophaga chrysoparia'') is an endangered species of bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of ha ...

and

black-capped vireo The black-capped vireo (''Vireo atricapilla'') is a small bird native to the United States and Mexico. It was listed as an endangered species in the United States in 1987. Successful conservation efforts on the U.S. Army's Fort Hood and Fort ...

Gallery

Image:Longhorn Cavern sign IMG 2005.JPG, Longhorn Cavern entrance portal File:Longhorn cavern administration building rear.jpg, The former administration building built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. File:Longhorn Caverns view of a hole.jpg, Longhorn Caverns natural entrance Image:Natural opening at Longhorn Cavern IMG 2017.JPG, One of the natural openings at Longhorn Cavern Image:Longhorn cavern entrance.jpg, Longhorn Cavern constructed entrance File:Longhorn cavern entrance steps.jpg, The grand staircase leading to the cavern entrance was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Image:Queen's Watchdog at Longhorn Cavern State Park IMG_2022.JPG, "Queen's Watchdog" formation at Longhorn Cavern Image:Nature Trail, Longhorn Cavern, Burnet County, TX IMG_2012.JPG, Backbone-Ridge Nature Trail at Longhorn Cavern

References

External links

Texas Parks and Wildlife: Longhorn Cavern State Park

Longhorn Cavern State ParkLonghorn Cavern State Park
''Adventure at Our Door'' (c. 1959),

Texas Archive of the Moving Image The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002 by film archivist and University of Texas at Austin professor Caroline Frick, PhD. TAMI's mission is to preserve, study, and exhibit Texas film h ...

{{authority control Caves of Texas State parks of Texas National Natural Landmarks in Texas Protected areas of Burnet County, Texas Show caves in the United States Texas Hill Country Protected areas established in 1932 Civilian Conservation Corps in Texas Landforms of Burnet County, Texas

Human history

Nature

Gallery

See also

References

External links