Marvel Cave
The most well-known cave in the Ozarks is Marvel Cave. The cave has even been designated a National Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Marvel Cave is well known not only for the scenic formations that occur within it, but because the beginnings of Silver Dollar City are tied closely to the development of the cave.
The first written record was noted during an 1869 expedition by Henry T. Blow. Mr. Blow was searching for lead; however, finding none, he left the cave mainly undisturbed. Believing one of the walls to be composed of marble, he named the cave Marble Cave.
The cave wasn't bothered again until 1882 when Mr. T. Hodges Jones entered the cave in search of lead. Although he found no lead, Mr. Jones bought the property containing the cave two years later and formed a company to mine the guano, or bat manure, from the cave. By 1889 the guano had been mined and the mining company dissolved.
The cave property was bought by William Henry Lynch in 1889. By 1894 the Lynches had opened the cave as a sightseeing attraction. Although slow at first, by 1900 the cave was opened as an attraction for good. William Lynch died in 1927, passing ownership of the cave to his daughters. They changed the name of the cave to Marvel Cave, since it had long since been discovered that the marble wall of the cave was actually limestone.
The Lynch family ran the cave for almost fifty years, until Hugo Herschend bought a 99-year lease on the cave. The Herschend family developed and expanded the cave as an attraction until they had what is today one of the most popular tourist attractions around, Silver Dollar City.
Works Cited
Photograph of Marvel Cave tower, courtesy Lyons Memorial Library, College of the Ozarks
McGill, Robert. "Silver Dollar City." In the Heart of Ozark Mountain Country: A Popular History of Stone and Taney Counties, including Branson, MO. Reeds Spring: White Oak Press, 1992, pp. 11-23.
