Lincoln Caverns

Hi-Way-May Caverns - William Penn Caverns

Useful Information

Location:	5 km west of Huntingdon, PA. Directly on U.S. Rt.22.
Open:	JAN to FEB by appointment. MAR to MAY daily 9-16. Memorial Day to 30-JUN daily 9-17. JUL to Labor Day daily 9-18. SEP to NOV daily 9-17. DEC Sat, Sun 11, 13, 15. [2007]
Fee:	Adults USD 10.50, Children (4-12) USD 6.50, Seniors (65+) USD 9.50. Groups (-20): Adults USD 9, Children (4-12) USD 5.50. Groups (20+): Adults USD 8, Children (4-12) USD 5. [2007]
Classification:	Karst Cave Devonian Helderberg limestone.
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	T=11 °C.
Guided tours:	D=60 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Kevin Patrick (2004): Pennsylvania Caves & other rocky roadside wonders, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pa, USA, 248 pp, illus. p 6, 7-9, 10, 17, 29, 45, 64-67, 78, 79, 81 144-48, 157, 161, 166, 172-73, 227. Ralph W Stome (1932): Pennsylvania Caves, Pennsylvania Geological Survey Fourth Series, Bulletin G3, p 87-90, survey, 2 photos.
Address:	Lincoln Caverns, Inc., RR #1, Box 280, U.S. Route 22, Huntingdon, PA 16652, Tel. +1-814-643-0268, Fax: +1-814-643-0268. 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

MAY-1930	discovered during the construction of Route 22.
25-JUN-1931	opened to the public under the name Hi-Way-May Caverns.
1932	purchased by Myron Dunlavy Sr. and renamed William Penn Caverns.
1937	renamed Lincoln Caverns in honor of the American president Abraham Lincoln.
SEP-1941	Whisper Rocks discovered.
1942-1945	closed.
1961	Whisper Rocks developed.

Description

In 1930 the new William Penn Highway was built through the Appalachian mountains to connect Central Pennsylvania. They applied dynamite charges in a hill below Huntingdon, when a drill disappeared into a hole. They triggered the explosion anyway and the hillside collapsed. A big cave was found, which was decorated with stalactites and stalagmites.

Mr. Harry B. Stewart, the farmer who owned the hillside, decided to hire some of the highway workers to open the cave as a commercial attraction. Seven men worked 13 months to develop it. The Lobby Room, the entrance building, was built of steel beams supporting a wooden ceiling. In the cave the future path was marked by poking poles into soft sand and clay, Then sand and clay were removed.

Lincoln Caverns is said to have the largest variety of formations ever found in a Pennsylvania cave.

There is a nearby cave called Whisper Rocks which was opened up to the public in 1961. It is part of the Lincoln Caverns system, but a physical connection has yet to be found. Whisper Rocks has been very well protected and is almost as it was when it was discovered.