| Location: | From Indianapolis south on I-65 to exit 6B(New Albany), I-265 west to exit #118 (Georgetown). Turn right at the end of exit onto Ind. S.R. 64, go west 40km. |
| Open: | Memorial Day to Labor Day daily 9-18, Spring and Fall weekdays: 9:30-17:30, Spring and Fall weekends: 9-18, Rest of year daily 9-17 [2003] |
| Fee: |
Crystal Palace Tour: Adults $12, Children (4-12) $6, Group (12+) Adults $9, Children (4-12) $5.75. Dripstone Trail Tour: Adults $13, Children (4-12) $6.50, Group (12+) Adults $10, Children (4-12) $5.75. Both Tours: Adults $19, Children (4-12) $9, Group (12+) Adults $14, Children (4-12) $85. Old Town Spring Cave (spelunking tour): per person $22. [2003] |
| Classification: |
 Karst cave.
|
| Light: | electric |
| Dimension: | L=8,948, HD=23m, T=11°C. |
| Guided tours: |
Crystal Palace Tour: L=530m, D=40min. Dripstone Trail Tour: L=1,600m, D=70min. |
| Bibliography: |
Anon (ny):
Marengo Cave, US National Landmark,
paperback, 32 pp, many B&W photos.
|
| Address: | Marengo Cave, U.S. National Landmark, P.O. Box 217, Marengo Cave Road, Marengo, IN 47140, Tel. +1-812-365-2705, Fax: +1-812-365-2705 |
| Last update: | $Date: 2007/11/19 21:33:08 $ |
| 06-SEP-1883 | discovered by Blanch and Orris Heistand, two children who noticed an opening near the bottom of a sinkhole. | |
| 1896 | Samuel M. Stewart dies and ownership of the cave passed to his wife, Mary Stewart. | |
| 1899 | Mary Stewart dies and the cave is owned by the ten heirs. | |
| 1900 | Marengo Cave Company formed to operate the cave for the inheritors. Samuel M Stewart (Mitch) was the first manager. | |
| 1910 | Crystal Palace entrace built. | |
| 1911 | J. M. Weathers takes over as manager. | |
| 1913 | J. M. Weathers Jr hires William (Bill) Clifton as a caretaker. He works as a guide for 52 years. | |
| 1923 | First electric lights. | |
| 1929 | Charles Fitzgerald takes over as manager and wants to buy the part of the cave under John E (Ed) Ross's land. Unable to come to an agreement the 700 feet of passage under the Ross's land is fenced off. | |
| 1955 | Local business man Floyd Denton buys the cave. New lighting system installed. | |
| 1960 | Denton dies and his wife Lucille runs the cave. | |
| 1963 | Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the cave is designated as a civil defence shelter for 435 people. | |
| 1965 | Mrs Denton's son-in-law, Jack Hollis, runs the cave | |
| 1971 | Tony Oldham visits the cave. | |
| 1972 | Ross dies and the fence comes down. | |
| 1973 | Four cavers, Gordon Smith, Terry Crayden, Gary Robertson and Pat Stephens, buy the cave. Terry Crayden is installed as manager. | |
| 1974 | Gary Robinson takes over a manager. | |
| 1978 | Ross section reopened and a new entrance Dripstone Trail Entrance is opened up. | |
| 1979 | Dripstone Trail Tour opened. | |
| 1979 | Cave closed due to flooding. | |
| 28-JUL-1982 | Armed robbery in cave. A former guide holds up a party with a shot gun and removes all their valuables. Caught two weeks later, gets 10 years in local jail. | |
| 1984 | Caves designated as a National Landmark. | |
| 1992 | a huge new section of the cave was discovered at the Blowing Bat Crawl. | |
| 23-MAY-2004 | cave temporarily closed due to heavy tornado. |
Marengo Cave has been described as one of the most beautiful show caves in the eastern United State. It is noted for its large trunk passage, up to three metres high and 20 metres wide adorned with some very impressive and massive speleothems.
There are two different tours, the shorter one is very easy to walk and shows the most impressive speleothems. The longer tour is rather new, as it was opened in 1979, and shows especially huge numbers of soda straws and slender totem pole stalagmites.
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