![]() Between 19, around 400 enrollees worked in the cave. Heading Undergroundīefore the CCC, access to Colossal Caves was limited. In 1934, Schmidt agreed to give up his lease so that the federal government could make some improvements. At the narrow rabbit hole of an entrance, he handed them a rope and candle and helped push them in. Schmidt decided to allow people to tour the cave for 25 cents. Intrepid explorers entered the dark depths of Colossal Cave with little more than candle and rope (Photo: Megan Kopp) He began exploring the caverns and felt they should be appreciated. Appreciation and Preservation of Colossal Caveīy 1917, a local entrepreneur started offering auto tours to “Colossal Cave.” Five years later, German immigrant, Frank Schmidt, obtained a mineral lease for land around and including the cave. In 1905, a tunnel was excavated to mine the guano. The robbers never noticed the Cave’s real riches – bat guano. The “Mountain Springs Cave” – as it came to be known – attained legendary status when train robbers reportedly used it on two separate occasions as a hideout. Within no time he was leading a few tours into what local newspapers dubbed the “Arizona Catacombs.” Mortars, such as this one found inside the cave, provide insight into how the cave was used in prehistoric times (Photo: Megan Kopp) In 1879, a local rancher named Solomon Lick stumbled across the cave. It remained a campsite for the Tohono O’odham and the Apache people up until historic times, but the cave remained a secret to settlers moving westward until the 19 thcentury. Archaeologists know that Colossal Cave was used as a temporary shelter by the Hohokam as early as 900 A.D. Just outside of Tucson, Arizona is a massive monument to the CCC’s work – Colossal Cave.īut first, a little back cave story. This heritage lives on across the United States.
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