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The Gap was not the only geologic feature
that drew the attention of early travelers. In his diary account of April
13, 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker recorded the existence
of a small cave entrance just above a large spring. Walker called the
cavern "Gap Cave" and the pass, the "Cave Gap". For weary travelers, this
area was no doubt a resting spot to enjoy the cool water that flowed out
of the cave.
Following the Revolutionary War, water from the stream exiting from the cavern was used to power a saw mill, |
| a wool carding mill, a granary mill and the blast machinery for the Cumberland Iron Furnace. By supplying these industries, the stream allowed the fledgling settlement of Cumberland Gap to become well established. Saltpeter was mined from the greater Gap Cave system during the early 1800s. | |
| The lower part of Gap Cave eventually became known as King Solomon's Cave; at various times during the Civil War, both Union and Confederate troops explored this cave and the adjacent Soldiers Cave. According to local historians, the armies used Soldiers Cave as a military hospital and for storage. Inscribed names and dates in the cavern document the military |  |
| presence, as does the diary of a Union soldier
stationed at the Gap. Smoke pictures of artillery in action and of battle
scenes and flags, both Confederate and Federal, were reportedly created
by soldiers of both armies during the war. There is evidence that the
greater Gap Gave system was used for processing of saltpeter in the portion
of the cavern known as Saltpeter Cave.
A new use of the cavern was found in the early 1890s when commercial tours began through "King Solomon's Cave." Electrical lighting was installed in Soldiers Cave in 1934, and shortly thereafter a tunnel was dug to connect it with King Solomon's Cave. The combined caves were subsequently renamed Cudjo Cavern after the main character in an 1893 novel whose setting was in a fictional "Cumberland Grotto." The cavern was acquired by Lincoln Memorial University by deed transfer from private owners in March 1920. Title was conveyed to the commonwealth of Virginia in 1947. The right to operate commercial tours in Gap Cave was transferred to the National Park Service in 1992, and the cave has remained closed to the public since then. After many years as a commercial cave, Gap Cave had been vandalized to the point that it had lost much of its attraction, with broken light bulbs behind every boulder, graffiti on every wall, and with very unstable stairs and bridges. |
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In conjunction with the Gap Restoration, Gap Cave has once again been reopened to the public. With the completion of the restoration, the cave is again called by its original name, Gap Cave. Park staff and members of the Pine Mountain Grotto cleaned the cave. Old handrails, rock monuments, some of the asphalt trail, and the old electrical lighting system were removed. |
| The cave now closely resembles its original condition. No electricity – only lanterns light the way. Visitors will discover mammoth rooms and gaze in awe at the walls decorated with delicate stalactites and majestic stalagmites. Gap Cave is once again a grand underground cathedral. | |
