The Caverns of Howes Cave

The Caverns of Howes Cave

On the morning of May 22, 1842, farmer Lester Howe tied a rope around his waist and eased himself into a dark hole near his Cobleskill, N.Y., farm. The curious, man-sized hole had been a source of superstition, fear and apprehension to Schoharie Valley residents since the area was settled in the mid-18th century. What Howe discovered on that day would later become Howe Caverns, and more than 160 years later, it is one of the state’s most visited natural attractions, second only to Niagara Falls.

Howe first opened the cave, then known as Howe’s Cave, to visitors in 1843 and for a brief time prospered. However, he eventually sold the property—located in Howes Cave, N.Y., between the farming towns of Cobleskill (pop. 6,407) and Schoharie (pop. 3,299)—in 1878, and the cave was subsequently closed to visitors.

The cave re-opened in 1929, under new management as Howe Caverns, with amenities such as electricity, an elevator and brick walkways that connect 2,600 feet of walking space.

Horace Rickard, 92, was one of the original cave guides in 1929. "This was a heck of a lot better than tossing hay," says Rickard, who grew up on a farm in nearby Middleburg (pop. 3,515). "And it still is." For the duration of the Great Depression, Rickard was fortunate to be earning $1.87 a day, "when farm laborers were getting a dollar a day, and working harder," he says.

Rickard worked nine years at Howe Caverns and still can recall his first trip into the cave. "I had heard many stories about it as a child," he says. "But I was amazed at what I found when I first went down. It was like seeing the history of the Earth."

Scientists believe that a river cut through the limestone ground and began forming the caverns 6 million years ago. Dubbed "The River Styx," the underground river was formed over millions of years by seepage of ground water that eroded the rock. The river runs under the passageway that leads to the cave’s 11 rooms and formations, each with its own unique name such as Titan’s Temple, Chinese Pagoda, Lake of Venus and Winding Way.

"You are seeing layers as you would see the rings of a tree," says Howe Caverns Director John Sagendorf, pointing to the walls of the 600-foot-long, shoulder-wide Winding Way, a favorite passageway among visitors. "They are layers of sediment built up over a period of 400 million years."

In fact, a visitor can stand in Winding Way with one foot touching stone millions of years old, and a hand touching stone 2 million years younger. The damp, 52-degree cave constantly is changing as stalagmites and stalactites grow inside at a rate of 1 cubic inch per year.

But not all of the 200,000 people who visit Howe Caverns each year take the hour-and-45-minute subterranean tour. Some are drawn to the cave’s wedding chapel, a tradition that began when Lester Howe married off his daughter, Elgiva, in 1854 in what today is known as the Bridal Altar.

Bert Maynes, one of the cave’s three "official" pastors, performs about a half-dozen ceremonies a year. He fondly recalls presiding over a last-minute ceremony that took place at the cave after one couple’s planned hot-air balloon wedding fell through. "They decided that instead of going a few hundred feet up, they’d go a few hundred feet down," he says, laughing.

Today, the town of Howes Cave consists of a post office, service station and a few gift shops, which cater to Howe Caverns visitors who also attend annual underground events, such as a Halloween party and Christmas caroling. "If you think singing in the shower sounds good, a choir singing in the cave sounds phenomenal," Maynes says. "The acoustics are not to be believed."

Dan and Yee Mee Landry from Clifton Park, N.Y. (pop. 32,995), visited with their 6-month-old daughter, Caroline, and 4-year-old twins, Benjamin and Isabella. Dan, 30, remembers his first visit to Howe Caverns when he was 9, and he wanted his children to have that same experience.

"You don’t see this kind of scenery anywhere else," Dan says. "It’s one-of-a-kind."

Visit www.howecaverns.com or call (518) 296-8900 to learn more.

Warren D. Jorgensen is a freelance writer in Tarrytown, N.Y.

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