Welcome to Local History, a new regular segment of LocalNews1.org. Every Tuesday we’ll feature a story about local history in our area. There are quite a few caves in our area. Today’s story is about one of them.
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Franklin County once boasted a commercial (or “show”) cave—Baker Caverns, just south of Williamson along the Warm Spring Road (PA 995). The cave was open to the public for tours from 1932 to 1954. The reasons for the closure nearly 70 years ago are unclear: perhaps the cave just wasn’t as unique or large or showy as, say, Luray Caverns or Penn’s Cave. Maybe it was too far off the beaten track to attract enough tourists. Or the owner became ill or disenchanted with a struggling business and simply threw in the towel.
Regardless, since the 1950s Baker Caverns has been closed, except for occasional visitors over the years who were granted special permission to enter by the owner or tenant.
The closure ended in 2021 when the current owner, Dara Black, decided to reopen the cave under her private home using an open house concept. Literally, she lives in the house that is built over the entrance to the cave. You go down the steps into the basement to enter the cave!
Dara has renamed the cave Black-Coffey Caverns (the last name of current owner plus the last name of farmer who discovered the cave back in the 1830s).
The open houses, which occur several days each month, are scheduled via Facebook. Go to www.facebook.com/blackcoffeycaverns for more information and to see some photographs of the cave. There are no regularly scheduled operating hours.
The tours last about an hour and are guided by volunteers. Unlike typical commercial caves, there is no installed lighting: the tours are completely illuminated using flashlights that each guest brings (one comment being that this makes the underground visit feel more like an “exploration” rather than a “tour”).
The cave itself is quite interesting. The original concrete sidewalks, steps, and handrails still exist throughout portions of the cave. More importantly, there are many beautiful cave formations (stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and rimstone). Photographic opportunities are endless! Passages are people-sized or larger, meaning little feel of claustrophobia. You walk on gravel or on the original show cave sidewalks, with an occasional muddy spot.
In keeping with the open house notion, the gathering room inside the house for Black-Coffey Caverns guests has snacks and water for guests after their tour, plus a few items for sale if you are interested. There is a basket for voluntary donations because there is no set ticket price for cave entry.
Highly suggest you visit the Black-Coffey Caverns Facebook page (www.facebook.com/blackcoffeycaverns) and schedule your visit soon. It is an incredible local experience!
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