Longhorn Cavern Entrance II_01

Title

Longhorn Cavern Entrance II_01

Artist

Greg Reed

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

Taken September 2011.

Longhorn Cavern State Park

History

Longhorn Cavern State Park is 645.62 acres of rugged Hill Country south of Burnet in Burnet County. The state acquired Longhorn Cavern from private owners in 1932 to 1937. The park opened in 1938, and was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971.

Place of refuge

Over the last million years, water left a thick layer of mud and debris in the cave. As a result, early visitors could only use a small area of the cavern.

The cave has provided shelter since prehistoric times. Some of the earliest visitors were the area’s prehistoric peoples. They used the large room next to the main entrance for shelter.

Stories and legends

Anglo settlers discovered the cavern in the mid-1800s. They mined bat guano, used to manufacture gunpowder during the Civil War.

Many legends and stories surround the cave. According to one, the outlaw Sam Bass hid a $2 million cache of stolen money inside. Of course, there’s no evidence that Sam Bass ever visited the cave. Another legend says Texas Rangers rescued a kidnapped girl from Indians in the cave. Confederates made gunpowder in the cave during the Civil War.

Stories like these drew tourists as early as the turn of the 20th century. By the 1920s, the main room served as a dance hall and concert venue.
CCC

From 1934 to 1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps built many of the structures in the park.


Source: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/longhorn-cavern/park_history


Longhorn Cavern

Human history

The park is named for Longhorn Cavern, a limestone cave formed by the cutting action of an underground river that receded thousands of years ago. Before the cave became a tourist attraction, it was used over the years by Indians, Confederate soldiers and outlaws, including outlaw Sam Bass.[2]

In the 1920s, during the prohibition period, the cavern was used by Burnet County residents as a speakeasy. Performing musicians would entertain through the night. The popular spot was known as Sherrard's Cave before it was dedicated as Longhorn Cavern State Park in November 1933.[3] From 1934 to 1942, Company 854 of the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed Texas Park Road 4, residences, pavilions and an observation tower in the National Park Service Rustic architectural style.[2] They also explored the cavern and made it accessible by removing some 2.5 tons of silt, debris, and guano and building stairs and walkways both into and inside the cavern.[4]

In 2006, Steven Kurtz, curator of Longhorn Cavern State Park, re-introduced chamber music to the cave with the creation of the Simple Sounds concert series.[5] The return of chamber music was featured on an episode of Bob Phillips' syndicated television series Texas Country Reporter, with Kaye Barlow as the travel guide. Not until February 14, 2008, did dancers return to the cave floor when local Burnet County band Redneck Jedi performed.[citation needed] On April 4, 2008, Redneck Jedi returned to the cave and recorded their fifth album, Unplugged and Underground, the first such recording inside the cave.[6]

In 2008, Fantastic Fest hosted an after party for the premiere of City of Ember.[7] In 2012, the cavern tour area received a new lighting system.[8]

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longhorn_Cavern_State_Park




Longhorn Cavern State Park features Longhorn Cavern, a Texas Hill Country wonder created over thousands of years by the dissolving and cutting action of water on the limestone bedrock of the area. Fossil remains show that many Ice Age animals once occupied the cave.


Earliest records indicate that the Comanche Indians were the first to use the cavern. They came in about 400 years or so before anyone else did.


In more recent history, the cavern was used as a Confederate stronghold where gunpowder was manufactured in secret during the Civil War. The cavern is also rumored to have been the hideout of Sam Bass, a legendary Texas outlaw.

Longhorn Cavern is one of the few river-formed caverns in Texas.

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May 11th, 2014

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