Lost River Cave facts for kids

Cave entrance

Lost River Cave is a cool cave system in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It's about seven miles long! A river called the Lost River starts outside the cave and then flows right into it. The cave has one of the biggest natural entrances in the eastern United States. You can even take boat tours inside the cave all year round. Just remember, they are closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

The Lost River was once called the "Shortest, deepest river in the world" by Ripley's Believe It or Not!. This was because a part of the river called the blue hole seemed to be over 437 feet deep, even though the river itself was only 400 feet long. It turns out the blue hole is actually 16 feet deep, but it connects to a much longer underground river. The 72-acre area around the cave is owned by Western Kentucky University and a group called the non-profit Friends of Lost River Cave.

The Cave's Amazing Geology

The Lost River Cave is made of special rocks. These include a type of rock called Chert, which is known as the Lost River Chert. Below that are layers of Ste. Genevieve Limestone and St. Louis Limestone. All these rocks formed a very long time ago, during the middle to late Mississippian Period.

The Lost River appears above ground in three short parts before it goes into the cave. The most interesting part is the blue hole. This is the spot that made Ripley's Believe It or Not! call the Lost River the "Shortest, deepest river in the world." People used to think the blue hole was 437 feet deep. This was because their measuring tools were pulled into the underground river, giving wrong numbers.

In 1847, a man named Thomas Kite wrote about the river and cave in his journal. He described a large, oval-shaped dip in the ground. At the bottom, about 100 feet down, flowed a river. He said it was twenty or thirty yards wide. He also wrote about a grist mill inside the cave entrance. He lit a Bengal light and sent it floating down the river. It lit up the huge cave as it went!

Ancient People of the Cave

Archaeologists from Western Kentucky University have found signs that people lived here a very long time ago. The first people, called Paleo-Indians, were here at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. The cave and valley were a great place to live. They offered shelter, food, and clean water.

Ten thousand years ago, Kentucky was cooler and wetter. It had evergreen forests. The Paleo-Indians were "big game hunters." They hunted animals like the giant ground sloth, the woolly mammoth, and the mastodon. They used Clovis spear points to hunt these large animals. These early people moved around a lot, camping in different spots depending on the season. An expert named Jack Schock thinks these ancient tribes camped at Lost River Cave in the winter. They used the cave for shelter and the blue hole for water.

Around 8,000 B.C., during the Archaic period in North America, people started using the environment in a more organized way. A rare spear point, called a Dalton point, was found at Lost River. It is about 8,000 years old. This makes Lost River an important place to study the Archaic period. These native groups lived in the Cave region until about 1,000 B.C.

The Cave's Mill History

The cave was close to Bowling Green, Kentucky and a main road. This helped it grow in the 1800s. There are different stories about when the first water mill was built at Lost River Cave. Some say it was built in 1792. It was used as a corn gristmill and a saw mill. Other stories say the "first flour mill in Warren County" was built later.

Through the 1800s, several mills operated here. The first mills were inside the cave. Later, mill owners built their operations on top of the cave's arched entrance. W. F. Smith, who bought the cave in 1917, said Shank's Mill was the only underground water mill in the U.S.

By 1825, James Skiles owned the mill. In 1847, a Mr. Shanks owned it. This mill was built right in the stream under the cave's rock arch. A soldier named Samuel Hibbs camped at Lost River in 1862. He wrote that the water was held back by a stone wall with narrow gates.

In the mid-1870s, John L. Row built a stone dam near the cave entrance. He drilled through 42 feet of rock in the cave ceiling. Then, he built a three-story mill above the cave. A shaft connected to a water wheel in the dam. He ran his mill as a flour mill until 1889. James Skaggs then bought it.

The last mill at Lost River, owned by Robert Crump, burned down in 1915. This ended over a century of industry at the site. Today, you can still see the hole John Row drilled in the cave ceiling. There's also a rebuilt dam and a large waterwheel. These help explain how important industry was to the early owners of the cave and valley.

Lost River Cave During the Civil War

During the American Civil War, both sides controlled the cave and valley at different times. Confederate soldiers were in Bowling Green from September 1861 to February 1862. Then, Union soldiers took over the area. They used it as a camp.

Some people say that John Hunt Morgan, a famous Confederate officer, hid in the cave. This was supposedly after he burned a train depot. However, this story is probably not true. Union soldiers were camped there at the time.

When the Union controlled the area, almost 40,000 soldiers camped near the cave. Later explorers have found places where soldiers wrote their names and ranks on the cave walls. Archaeologists have also found Union bullets inside the cave.

The Cavern Nite Club Era

Many caves were rumored to be used for making alcohol during Prohibition. This was a time when alcohol was illegal. However, this has not been proven for Lost River Cave. When Prohibition ended, the cave got a new use.

In 1934, a local businessman named Jimmy Stewart opened a nightclub inside the cave entrance. It had a stage, a bar, and a dance floor. It was called the "Cavern Nite Club." The club was very popular because it was cool inside. This was a big deal when air conditioning was rare. Famous performers like Dinah Shore and the NBC Symphony Orchestra played there. In 1939, Billboard Magazine said it was the only air-conditioned nightclub in the U.S. Electricity for the club came from the water wheel.

The Cavern Nite Club and cave tours became easy to reach. This was thanks to the building of the Dixie Highway. A local story also said that the famous outlaw Jesse James hid in the cave. People said he was escaping the law after robbing a bank.

Decline and New Beginnings

The nightclub era ended in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Radio and TV made nightclubs less popular. Also, a new highway, I-65, took traffic away from Lost River Cave. The cool cave breeze was not as special when people had air conditioning at home. In 1962, the Cavern Nite Club closed. Lost River Cave then went through a time of neglect. By the 1980s, it had become a dumping site.

In 1990, a group called the Friends of Lost River was formed. This non-profit organization wanted to bring the site back to its former glory. Today, Western Kentucky University and the Friends of Lost River jointly own the Lost River valley and cave. The cave reopened to the public in 1997. Most signs of the dumping have been cleaned up. There are plans to remove unwanted plants and build a wetlands area. This will help clean the water that flows into the cave system.

Cave Boat Tours and Fun Activities

The cave tour lasts 45 minutes and has two parts. First, a guide takes you on a walking tour. You walk along the river, see the blue hole, and explore the cave entrance. You learn about the area's natural history and the people who lived there. The second part of the tour is on a boat. You get to explore deep inside the cave by boat!

Lost River Cave has two places for events. The Historic Lost River Cave Ballroom is inside the cave. It's where the Cavern Nite Club used to be. The River Birch Meeting Room is next to the visitor center. It has its own restrooms, a kitchen, and a big screen TV. Both places can be rented for events.

The park also has about two miles of nature trails. These trails are free to use. They are part of the Bowling Green-Warren County Greenways program. Other fun activities include a seasonal butterfly habitat, gem mining, geocaching, bird watching, and bird bingo. You can even borrow binoculars from the visitor's center. The park also has a Young Interpreters program, an outdoor classroom, and special activities for children.

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  Cave entrance