Squire Boone Caverns & Village

Useful Information

Location:	On Buck Creek about 8 km northeast of Mauckport in Harrison County. From Corydon Hwy 135 south 16 km, then Squire Boone Road 5 km east.
Open:	JAN to Memorial Day daily 10, 12, 14, 16. Memorial Day to mid AUG daily 10-17, tours every 30 min. mid AUG to Labor Day Mon-Fri 10, 12, 14, 16, Sat-Sun tours every 30 min. Labor Day to DEC daily 10, 12, 14, 16. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Day. [2011]
Fee:	Adults USD 14.50, Children (6-11) USD 8, Children (0-5) free, Seniors USD 10. Groups (20+): special school field trips. Reservation required. Memorial Day to mid AUG parking fee USD 3.00 per vehicle. [2011]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	T=12 °C
Guided tours:	D=60 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Squire Boone Caverns & Village, PO Box 411, Corydon, IN 47112, Tel. +1-812-732-4382. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1790	discovered by Squire Boone and Daniel Boone.
1804	Squire Boone and his family returned to settle in Grassy Valley.
15-AUG-1815	Squire Boone died and buried the cave.
192?	the grist mill burned.
1973	new entrances blasted and steel bridges constructed.
1980	restauration of the grist mill completed.

Description

Squire Boone Caverns was named after Squire Boone (*05-OCT-1744-✝15-AUG-1815), who discovered it together with his brotherDaniel Boone. Squire Boone was a famous explorer, hunter, and gunsmith, but he also was statesman and minister.

Some years after the discovery, Squire Boone escaped a band of hostile Indians by hiding inside the cave. He eventually settled here with his wife, five of his sons and their families. He built the grist mill, which is still working and a part of the visit. After his death in 1815 he was buried inside the cave as he had requested. Despite numerous near deadly wounds he received during his life, he died of dropsy. This dead was to foresee, and he had built his own coffin when he died.

Squire Boone cave is a river cave, the river leaves the cave at its entrance and is used to run the grind mill. This spring has an average yield of 44 l/s. The tour includes some waterfalls inside the cave.

Another highlight of the tour are the various speleothems. There are twisted helictite formations and rimstone dams, which are both rather rare. The one-hour tour includes a 73-step spiral staircase, so it requires a certain physical fitness.