Skip to main content

Wigwam Village No. 2 - Cave City, KY

Image
By


While sitting on the front porch at the motor lodge's check-in, a young couple pulls in.  With a quick look at the car and the night's roster of guests, owner Keith Stone immediately knows who is checking in and welcomes them to Wigwam Village, No. 2.

The guests are headed to Mammoth Cave from Illinois and Montreal, Canada.  They made their reservations out of curiosity - to do something unique.  Stone welcomes them and introduces them to his two cats, Andy Rooney and Vetra.

After giving a general overview of the grounds and guidelines, Stone asks if the couple wishes to learn more about the Wigwam Village's history.  They do, and Stone discusses some of the history.  Frank Redford opened the first Wigwam Village in 1935.  That first village - with six teepee rooms - opened a few miles up the highway in Horse Cave.  He'd open the larger village in Cave City two years later.

The iconic teepee design of Frank Redford's Wigwam Villages.

Redford would patent the teepee design and eventually develop a small franchise chain of seven villages with locations in Kentucky, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona, and California.  Of the seven, three remain today. Cave City, Holbrook, Arizona, and San Bernadino, California.

Stone and co-owner Megan Smith purchased the motor lodge in the fall of 2020 and immediately began to restore the teepees and grounds to its 1937 splendor.  Slowly but surely, restorations of the teepees have included restoring the original furniture, adding modern amenities like wi-fi and flat-screen televisions, and, if they can find them, the original dime-operated radios.

The 'Sleep in a Wigwam' neon sign was restored in the spring of 2021 - and currently, 11 of the 15 rooms have been restored.  The final restoration project is the large teepee that sits along US 31W.  It was a former gas station and restaurant - and Stone and Smith plan to convert it to a coffee shop and guest convenience store.

The large grassy common area of Wigwam Village No. 2.

The 15 teepee rooms are arranged in a semi-circle overlooking a wide grassy area full of playground equipment, cornhole boards, fire pits, and more.  Outside each dwelling is a set of locally Amish-crafted chairs, a table, and a patio umbrella, inviting guests to sit, relax, read a book, or simply enjoy watching their children play.

Around 8:00 pm every evening, Stone starts a bonfire in the common area around the teepees. It is time for the guests - if they wish - to gather and enjoy the evening.

"There's a magic to the campfire," Stone says. "Things slow down, people talk."

It is not difficult to relax and unwind.

But the magic for Stone and Smith goes beyond just the campfire; it is their guests and the local community.  Guests from all over the country and world have spent a night or more at the Wigwam Village, No. 2, in the nearly four years they have operated the motor lodge.  Some guests are return visitors - whether from decades ago or more recently - retracing and remembering past road trips.  Many come with vintage photos or postcards of themselves or their ancestors sharing and telling those stories with Stone, Smith, and other guests.

"I never realized how much [the village] has meant to everyone," Stone notes.

Another group checking in asks for dining recommendations.  Stone happily notes a few local restaurants and then reminds the group of one other item - tomorrow's checkout.

 "Leave the key in the room - close the door and wave goodbye!"  

But the memories will always remain.


If you go:

Reservations can be made online at the Wigwam Village No. 2's website.  Rooms during the summer months can go quickly.  The village is closed from January into March.

How To Get There:

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


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

By
Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...
Post a Comment
Read more