The
Story behind 7
Caves & Cave Canyon
The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System
please
also see the
Natural History of
Rocky Fork Gorge
&
The Story
behind the Highlands Nature Sanctuary
The 100-year old private cave-tourist park
named 7 Caves in 1928 has been long admired for its wealth of rare plants, deep dolomite gorge and authentic caves.
It is the
very same property whose
’For Sale Sign’
triggered the founding of The Arc of
Appalachia Preserve System back in 1995. At that time, though the non-profit
organization was formed to buy
and protect the 60-acre park, the $1.2 million price tag was way above its
means. As a compromise, only the perimeter land around the park was purchased —
47 acres in all — leaving 13 acres in private hands to continue operating
as a tourist attraction. In the years that followed, the Arc of Appalachia
Preserve System grew from 47 acres to 3000, completely surrounding the 13-acre in-holding. To have an
opportunity to purchase this natural landmark and reunite it with the rest of
the gorge was long our organization's heartfelt aspiration. Finally in 2004 and 2005 we began raising
funds to accomplish our the long-held vision.
The Past.
The cavern-rich region of the Rocky Fork Gorge
attracted the attention of European settlers early in our state’s history. In
the early 1800’s local families would follow the Rocky Fork upstream to access
the scenic gorge, exploring the mud-laden caves with lanterns, and even holding
dances in the grotto of
Dancing Cave.
Early entrepreneurs named the cave
system Highland Caves and eventually charged an
entrance fee of 10 cents to tourists traveling by horseback and carriage who
came to explore this natural wonder from farther away. By the 1890’s, visitors
would stay at the Rocky Fork Hotel in the little town of
Paint
on State Route 50,
wading up the Rocky Fork with fishing
poles and picnic baskets, or they would ride horses along the rutted path that
would eventually become Cave Rd. Unfortunately during this time period,
extensive damage was done to the small caves. Every one of the thousands of
stalactites were removed by careless visitors.
In 1928, Clyde Chaney from Indiana made a trip
to Ohio that seeded the beginning of dramatic changes for the Highland Caves. He
came to visit relatives living in nearby Bourneville, and, of course, family
activities included a trip to the popular caves. Clyde immediately fell in love
with the hemlock gorge, the fern-draped rocks, and the sunken caves — and, in
them he saw expansive possibilities. He returned to Indiana and persuaded five
investors to fund the purchase of the caves — resulting in the Chaney’s
permanent move to Ohio.
Over an unbroken period of twenty-five years,
Clyde and his family developed the gorge into a first-class tourist destination
which he named Seven Caves.
Clyde improved the trace that led to the caves from Route 50,
building a road that could accommodate motor traffic. He cleared mud from the
caves, improved the trails with rock steps and rock walls, ran electricity into
the caverns, and engraved wooden signs that named the rock features with words
that sparked children’s imaginations. These changes actually helped to preserve
the beauty of the area, as visitors were now encouraged to stay on the trails.
In short order, wildflowers grew right up to the trail edges.
he
then raised the price to 25 cents, despite
protests from the local community. Chaney’s resourceful use of advertising —
including placing signs and
arrows along Rt. 50 all the way to Indiana, and
stapling advertisements to visitors’ wooden car bumpers — helped people discover
the caves from beyond the local neighborhood; most of whom found the rock
formations, refreshing scenery, and mysterious caves well worth the price of
admission.
Clyde passed away at the
young age of 59 in 1951. The following year the Seven Caves was sold to Robert
Judkins. The Judkins family continued to improve and promote the caves during
the heady days of the 70’s — when the popularity of family camping and state
park vacations reached an all-time peak. Tucked between Rocky Fork State Park and Pike State Park — the
Seven Caves served as a bustling tourist attraction all summer long. In 1981 the
Judkins passed the torch to Chet and Cherry Miller, who were the last private
owners of 7 Caves, operating the historic attraction for almost 25 years. Under the care of these three
families, thousands and thousands of families and children have been exposed to
the beauty of nature and the magic of the region’s caverns.
It is difficult to find words that can
communicate the magic and ambience of the caves. Not in the least has their
geologic and botanical beauty diminished over the years. Water continues to
bring the gorge to life — as revealed in the valley’s sparkling waterfalls, the
morning mist that spills over canyon walls, and the cold springs and seeps that
make this protected canyon a botanical paradise. Ancient white cedars still
cling to the cliff’s precarious rim, and towering hemlocks remain guardians at
its base. And the seven caves — portals to the underground — still yawn
mysteriously among the fern-draped canyon walls of Sullivantia Run.
In April, wildflower displays remain the best
in the state. The most spectacular floral display is what is known as the
Pyramid of the Trilliums. Here large-flowered trilliums tumble out of a side
valley in incomprehensibly high numbers. Earlier in the spring, the rare and
diminutive snow
trilliums can be seen clinging to the bare gray rocks. By summer
these vertical dolomite rocks are so densely blanketed with bulblet ferns, wild
hydrangea, and ginger that the rocks are hidden until the heavy frosts of
November sweep the rock faces clean once again.
The
Future. Even for the caves, time passes
and the years move on. Today’s modern youth are less familiar with Chaney’s
imaginative
storybook characters than were the children of the forties and the fifties. Despite the immeasurable joy and
service
