Florida Caverns Cave Tours are Operating Again

One of the state parks forced to largely close as a result of flooding last week has reopened. Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna returned to full operation this morning.

One of the most amazing natural and historical attractions in the state, the park operates the only tour cave in Florida and also features a wide array of other attractions including canoeing on the Chipola River, the historic Natural Bridge of the Chipola, Blue Hole Spring, hiking trails, picnic areas, campsites and a Robert Trent Jones designed golf course.

The park is extremely rich in history. Spanish explorers and missionaries followed a trail leading across the Natural Bridge in the park as early as 1674. Andrew Jackson followed the same trail when he passed through the park in 1818 during the First Seminole War. Local legend holds that Native Americans hid among the rocks and caves of the park and watched his soldiers as they passed.

The caves in the park were popular with early settlers of the county who came to picnic and explore, but the large tour cave was not discovered until the Great Depression when W.P.A. workers noticed a hole beneath a fallen tree as they were working to build the park. The hole opened into a magnificent network of caverns that are strikingly beautiful.

To learn more about Florida Caverns State Park, including the remarkable story of Florida's Rip van Winkle, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/floridacaverns.

Florida's Rip Van Winkle

One of the more bizarre legends handed down by Florida's early pioneers is a "Rip Van Winkle" like tale about a sleeping man found in the caves of today's Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna.

The caves at what would become the park were popular with early residents of Jackson County and they often rode out from town to picnic and explore. On one such expedition, according to the legend, a party of young people were exploring the Natural Bridge Cavern in the park when a wall suddenly gave way and exposed a previously unknown chamber.

As they climbed inside through the dust and debris, the explorers were stunned to find an old man stretched out on the floor of the new cave. At first they thought he was dead, but then to their surprise he began to stretch and wake up. He was dressed in skins with a coonskin cap by his side. He spoke a strange Spanish dialect but after some trying the explorers were finally able to understand what he was saying. When they told him the year, however, he became highly alarmed and announced that he had been sleeping for 100 years!

Panic stricken, the man ran out into the vast swamps of the Chipola River and was never seen again.

To learn more about this fascinating story that first appeared in newspapers as early as the 1850s, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/floridacaverns8. A longer version of the story can also be found in my recent book, The History of Jackson County, Florida: Volume One. It is now available at Amazon.com. Just follow the link for more information.