Fantastic Caverns is a

show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

located in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. Fantastic Caverns is the only cave in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

to offer a completely ride-through tour, which lasts 55 minutes and is held in a

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

-drawn

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

.where is fantastic caverns
/ref>Springfield Things to Do
, Search for "fantastic caverns" The trams drive along the path left behind by an ancient underground river.

History

The cavern was discovered by John Knox and his hunting dog in 1862.Fantastic Caverns Roadside America
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Look for "History" at the middle of the page. Knox did not want the cave to be exploited by the Union or Confederate governments as a possible source of

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

, so he kept the cave's existence quiet until 1867. Knox put an advertisement in the Springfield paper for someone to explore the cave, and it was first explored on February 14, 1867. On February 27, almost two weeks later, the Springfield Women's Athletic Club explored the cave. The twelve ladies are considered the first explorers of the cave, since they carved their names into the rock as graffiti and are mentioned in an article published in the Springfield Tri-Weekly Patriot newspaper.Twelve women
Search for "Fantastic Caverns "
, Search for "Vol. 54, No. 3, May/June 2006" The cave was renamed "Fantastic Caverns" in the 1950s.

The cave was owned by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

from 1924 to 1930, during which they used the caverns as a meeting place. The caverns were used as a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...

during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. The caverns also hosted music

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s during the 1950s and 1960s.Auditorium room
Search for "live country music show" The shows were broadcast on KGBX radio in the 1970s.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website of Fantastic Caverns

National Caves Association
Caves of Missouri Landforms of Greene County, Missouri Show caves in the United States Tourist attractions in Springfield, Missouri