By JENNIFER MOONSONG
Glasgow News 1
Although Cave City is in Barren County, much of the town, including its history and origins, is rooted in the existence of Mammoth Cave, located up the road a few miles in Edmonson County.
The entry way to Guntown Mountain and Cave Country Chair Lift, as it appeared on postcards in the 1960s and ’70s.
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The 342 acres or so where modern-day Cave City is located was first purchased in 1853 by several Louisville businessmen who made up the Knob City Land Company. They paid $6,850, which was $20 an acre. They intended to turn the land into a resort for tourists traveling to Mammoth Cave. Cave City was officially incorporated as a town a little more than a decade later, in 1866, but a post office opened earlier in 1860.
The Knob City Land Company surveyed and sold lots as the tracks were laid for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and the first train arrived there in 1859. In a great twist of irony, the purpose for the town was founded in its proximity to Mammoth Cave, but the name of the town was taken from a small cave on the 342 acres.
The first store in Cave City was owned and operated by the postmaster and his brother, and it was a dry goods and general store that served the town and region. One of the community’s most unique historic businesses was a “boutique for the eccentric lady” named Funny Hats and Bows. The hotels in the heyday of Cave City were so popular as stops they had postcards of their amenities in souvenir shops.
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Although some of the old places have faded or faded in popularity, the spirit of the town has not, and new and equally eccentric stops have taken their place to draw people in.
Wandering Woods, now only a memory, was one of the most beloved stops. The village replicated an 1880s town and was complete with a blacksmith shop, parlor and stick candy.
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The chapel in Wandering Woods was a local favorite.
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