Apr-Oct Mon-Sat 9-17:30, Sun 13-17:30 (last tour).
[2002]
Groups (20+): Adults $8.50 + 7% tax, Children (4-11) $6.50 + 7% tax.
[2002]
Karst cave.
Contact: Tammy Studdard, E-mail:
| Location: | Near Birmingham on State Hwy. 75, 8km southeast of Childersburg. |
| Open: |
Nov-Mar Mon-Sat 9-16:30, Sun 13-16:30 (last tour). Apr-Oct Mon-Sat 9-17:30, Sun 13-17:30 (last tour). [2002] |
| Fee: |
Adults $9.99 + 7% tax, Children (4-11) $7.99 + 7% tax. Groups (20+): Adults $8.50 + 7% tax, Children (4-11) $6.50 + 7% tax. [2002] |
| Classification: |
Karst cave.
|
| Light: | electric. |
| Dimension: | |
| Guided tours: | D=60min. |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: |
DeSoto Caverns Parkway, 5181 DeSoto Caverns Parkway, Childersburn, AL 35044-5663, Tel. +1-205-378-7252, Fax +1-205-378-3678, toll free 800-933-2283. Contact: Tammy Studdard, E-mail: |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:32:23 $ |
| 1540 | first expedition of Don Hernando de Soto. | |
| 1723 | oldest cave graffiti in the U.S. by I.W. Wright. | |
| 1796 | first reported by General Superintendent and US Agent for all tribes south of the Ohio River, Benjamin Hawkins. | |
| during the Civil War became a gunpowder mining center. | ||
| 1912 | purchased by Mrs. Ida Mathis to mine onyx, but it failed. | |
| 1919-1933 | during the prohibition was used for distilling alcohol and became known as "The Bloody Bucket". | |
| 1965 | leased by Fred Layton who developed it as a show cave and named it Kymulga Onyx Cave. | |
| 1975 | bought by Allen W. Mathis III, who renamed it DeSoto Caverns. |
The DeSoto Caverns got their name because of an old legend: when Don Hernando de Soto made his first expedition into the roaring wilderness of North America, he paused in the wooded hills of southern Alabama. It is said, that he visited a cave called KyMulga Cave and it is conjectured that it was this cave.
The large entrance chamber was used by the Indians for a long time. A small museum displays Indian artifacts. It was also well known to trappers and explorers following de Soto. Several signatures in the cave date from the 1700s.
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