Skip to main content

Horse Cave, Kentucky

Image
By

Many American towns and cities typically sprouted up along a railroad, a river, river crossings, a stop along a trading path, or a stagecoach trail.  Horse Cave, Kentucky is different.  Horse Cave is built above a cave and surrounds a three-story-deep sinkhole that leads into Hidden River Cave.

The town was settled and laid out by Major Albert Anderson.  Anderson asked that it be named 'Horse Cave' - it is suggested that in the mid-19th century, the word 'Horse' and 'Hoss' was used to name large-sized things.  Other explanations include that Native Americans used the cave to corral horses or after a nearby horse trough.

The name Horse Cave was not always popular - attempts to rename the town to 'Caverna' in the 1860s were unsuccessful.  The cave's owners - the family of Dr. George A. Thomas - did not like the name 'Horse Cave' and renamed the geological formation Hidden River Cave.

The home of Dr. George A. Thomas - former owner of Hidden River Cave.

Hidden River Cave was a natural and economic resource for Horse Cave.  The water from the underground streams served as drinking water.  Later, a turbine was installed, providing electricity to the community.  Hidden River Cave would become a tourist attraction, with the first public cave tours starting in 1912.

Unfortunately, the cave was also where residents would dump garbage and sewage.  Townspeople and outside residents would dump the waste into sinkholes and other passages within the cave system.  The water system would be undrinkable by the mid-1930s, and the public tours of Hidden River Cave halted in 1943.

A well-intended sewage treatment plant opened in the 1960s led to more pollution within the cave system.  Wastewater pumped into dry wells funneled into the cave, expanding the problem.  The stench from the polluted cave drove away patrons to many of the downtown businesses.

A new sewage treatment plant opened in 1989. A few years later, species native to the cave began returning.  By 2015, the groundwater was near drinking water standards.


With the cave system recovering, efforts began to return Hidden River Cave to public tours.  The American Cave Conservation Association moved its headquarters to Horse Cave and continued the preservation and restoration efforts.  The cave reopened in 1993, and as a result of successful restoration efforts - tours were extended to the ultimate goal of reaching Sunset Dome.

Downtown Horse Cave is home to over 50 structures currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to Hidden River Cave and the American Cave Museum, there is an above-ground walking tour of Downtown telling the story of the Horse Cave, Hidden River Cave, and the people and events of the community's colorful history.


Horse Cave is a community of roughly 2300 people and is the largest town in Hart County.  Along with the caverns, Horse Cave sits on the old Dixie Highway, which attracts many roadtrippers all year.

All photos taken by post author - June 23, 2024.

Sources & Links:
How To Get There:

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

By
  Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Pollasky Bridge

By
The Pollasky Bridge near modern day Friant is a ruined highway bridge which was completed during early 1906 as part of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road.  The structure is one of the oldest known arch concrete spans to have been constructed in California.  The bridge briefly carried California State Route 41 following the destruction of the Lanes Bridge in 1940.  The Pollasky Bridge itself was destroyed by flooding during 1951, but the ruins can still be found on the Madera County side of the San Joaquin River.   Pictured as the blog cover is the Pollasky Bridge as it was featured in the 1913 book "The Concrete Bridge."  The structure can be seen crossing the San Joaquin River near Friant below on the 1922 United States Geological Survey Map.   Part 1; the history of the Pollasky Bridge The Pollasky Bridge site is near modern day Friant of Fresno County.  The community of Friant was established as Converse Ferry during 1852 on the San Joaquin Rive...
1 comment
Read more

I-73/I-74 and NC Future Interstates Year in Review 2024

By
Welcome to another annual review of progress in constructing North Carolina's New and Future Interstate routes. While 2024 was not too exciting, with no new segments of major routes opening, there was 1 new interstate signing, another proposed new interstate route, and the near opening of a new segment for 2 routes. As tradition, I will start off with a review of what happened with I-73 and I-74 and then move on to the major news of the year about the other new and future routes. Work continued on the I-73/I-74 Rockingham Bypass through the year. The last few months have been hoping for news of its opening before 2025, without luck. Signs of its near completion included the placement of new signs, many with interstate shields uncovered, along the Bypass and intersecting roadways. For example, these went up along US 74 East: Overhead signage at Business 74 exit which contains the future ramp to I-73 North/I-74 West. Signage was also updated heading west on US 74 approaching the unop...
Post a Comment
Read more