History

Long before European settlers arrived in the Americas, up to 6,000 years ago, people were using the cave systems in this region. Artifacts suggesting funerary practices, as well as torches, gourd fragments, and woven slippers, have been found in Mammoth Cave and other caves nearby. However, the story we have is fragmented, and it is possible many more artifacts will yet be unearthed. The first Europeans to explore Mammoth Cave "discovered" it in 1797, and soon afterwards it was being exploited for its reserves of saltpeter, a key ingredient in gunpowder. Within two decades, significant mining was taking place in the cave. The focus turned to tourism by the mid-1800s, and the property changed hands several times. Briefly, it was owned by Dr. John Croghan, who believed the vapors in the cave would cure his tuberculosis patients. As more and more people heard of the cave, its fame grew and musicians, actors, singers, writers (including John Muir), and cave explorers of all kinds flocked to see the caverns. Other nearby property owners began trying to attract tourists, often deceptively. The formation of the national park involves a bitter history, as wealthy Kentuckians advocated for the protection of the park while many poor rural families had their property seized by eminent domain. Mammoth Cave was officially declared a national park on July 1, 1941. The research and exploration conducted over the next several decades on the Flint Ridge and Mammoth Cave Systems, both on park property and private landholdings, illuminated several connecting passages, making this cave system the longest known in the world at 144.4 miles as of 1972. Since then, discoveries of connectors to other caves and passages have increased that total to 400 miles.