Meramec Caverns is the collective name for a cavern system in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

, near Stanton,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. The caverns were formed from the erosion of large

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 w ...

deposits over millions of years.

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

Native American artifacts have been found in the caverns. Currently the cavern system is 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 ...

, with more than fifty billboards along

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

and is considered one of the primary attractions along former

U.S. Highway 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

. Meramec Caverns is the most-visited cave in Missouri with some 150,000 visitors annually.

History

The Meramec Caverns have existed for the past 400 million years, slowly forming through deposits of limestone. In centuries past, Native Americans used the cavern system for shelter. The first cave west of the Mississippi River to be explored by Europeans, it was first visited in 1722 by a French miner. Meramec Caverns was a station on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. Thousands of runaway slaves were reportedly housed there.Daily Standard, Sikeston, MO, December 14, 1961, p 5, available on Newspapers.com During the 18th century, the cave was used for extracting

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

for the manufacture 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). T ...

. In 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 polici ...

era, the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

used the caves as a saltpeter plant, but the plant was discovered and destroyed by Confederate guerrillas, likely including the future infamous outlaw

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained st ...

. According to local legend, James and his brother and partner in crime Frank used the caves as a hideout in the 1870s. However, there is scant historical evidence to support this tradition. One legend in particular claims that a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

tracking the Jameses sat in front of the cave, waiting for Jesse and his gang to emerge; however, they had found another exit. In 1933, the extended cave system was discovered, revealing the present , and was introduced to the public as a tourist attraction in 1935 by Lester B. Dill, who invented the

bumper sticker A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles—although they are often stuck onto other objects. Most bumper stickers ar ...

as a means of promoting the caverns. In 1960, Meramec Caverns rented

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

space in the caverns. The owners claimed this was the only underground billboard in the world. In midsummer of 1972, Meramec Caverns provided the cave settings for ''

Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), ''Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and ''Tom Sawyer, Dete ...

'', a musical film which was released to theaters that following year. In the 1998 movie

Deep Impact (film) ''Deep Impact'' is a 1998 American science-fiction disaster film directed by Mimi Leder, written by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin, and starring Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell, and Morgan Fre ...

a reference is made to the limestone caves of Missouri as the location of the ARC shelter.

Noted attractions

Wine Room

The fifth level of Meramec Caverns includes a "Wine Room." The Wine Room is home to the world's rarest cave formation, The Wine Table. The onyx table stands six feet high and is supported on three natural legs. Known as an

aragonite Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including pre ...

formation, this structure was composed almost entirely underwater. The Wine Room and the Wine Table are adorned with grape-like clusters called botryoids. Originally called the Wine Room because of these grape clusters, the cave now claims that it is called that because of the "whining" that visitors do when they learn that the room is accessible only after climbing numerous stairs (a total of 58 steps).

"Greatest Show Under the Earth"

The Cavern also contains a massive sheet wall of formations formed during the past several thousand years, which the cave calls its "stage curtain" and which is also used for displaying the light and sound show called "Greatest Show Under the Earth".

"Hollywood"

A room within the cavern was used for

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

productions, most notably ''

'' (1973). In the particular movie, the site was used as the cave system where

(

Johnny Whitaker John Orson Whitaker, Jr. (born December 13, 1959) is an American actor notable for several film and television performances during his childhood. The redheaded Whitaker played Jody Davis on ''Family Affair'' from 1966 to 1971. He also originated ...

) and

Becky Thatcher Mark Twain's series of books featuring the fictional characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn include: #'' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) #''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884) #''Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894) #'' Tom Sawyer, Detective ...

(

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

) got lost in a cave, as well as

and

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

( Jeff East) find the hidden

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

. An episode of ''

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another ...

'' was also filmed in this part of the cave.

Mirror Room

The Mirror Room is a room within the cavern that contains a stream of water about deep. However, when a group of lights are turned on, the depth of the water is perceived by many to be as great as , due to the reflection of the cavern's roof on the undisturbed water.

Ballroom

First used in 1890, The Ballroom is a room in the cavern system that was used in earlier times as a room for

square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...

s and other community events. It is now one of the first stops on the tour and is used for a few annual concerts by the Lester Family.

References

External links

Meramec Caverns official website
at AmericasCave.com *{{cite news , work=Riverfront Times , title=Best of St. Louis: Best Kitsch , first=Jill , last=Posey-Smith , url=http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2000-09-27/best-of-st-louis/best-kitsch/full , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622124516/http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2000-09-27/best-of-st-louis/best-kitsch/full , url-status=dead , archive-date=2011-06-22 , date=2000-09-27 Caves of Missouri Landforms of Franklin County, Missouri Show caves in the United States Limestone caves Roadside attractions in Missouri Tourist attractions along U.S. Route 66 Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Missouri