Last updated: January 16, 2023
Place
Manitou Cave of Alabama
Photo/Manitou Cave
Quick Facts
Location:
Located blocks from downtown Ft. Payne, Alabama; Contact Manitou Cave of Alabama for details.
Significance:
Manitou Cave of Alabama became many things to many people: an underground spiritual ceremonial location for the Cherokee in the early 1800’s, a salt peter mine in the 1860’s, a Cold War fallout shelter, a tourist attraction in the 1960’s and now a Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Interpretive Center.
Designation:
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Certified Interpretive Center; Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
Amenities
3 listed
Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Restroom, Trailhead
Nestled in ten acres of wooded land at the foot of Lookout Mountain in present-day Ft. Payne, Alabama sits a cave so special in its history and diverse in its geological formations and biology that it has attracted human interaction for centuries. In the early 1800's, this area was a Cherokee settlement called Willstown. Willstown was chosen by Sequoyah as a place to settle and work on creating the Cherokee syllabary. As a result, Sequoyah's son, Richard Gist (Guess), ventured into Manitou Cave and wrote inscriptions on the wall capturing ceremonial events leading up to an important stickball game.
Within a few years after the stickball game, the U.S. military rounded up Cherokee people from this area and re-named Willstown as Ft. Payne. Ft. Payne was a military stockade holding Cherokee people until they were removed to present day Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears. In the 1860's, Manitou Cave was mined for salt peter in support of the confederate army during the Civil War. Also during the Cold War, Manitou Cave was designated as a fallout shelter. Provisions for the shelter can still be seen in the cave to this day.
During the late 1800's, a large chamber in the cave was used as a ballroom. People came from all around to dance and listen to a band deep inside the cave. Due to interesting formations inside the cave including a large formation rising over 40 feet in height, the cave became an interest to tourists passing through the city. It opened formally as a tourist attraction in the early 1900's, and in 1961, a midcentury modern visitors center was built. This historic visitors center has been restored and functions as an interpretive center and classroom. Groups may book a tour by appointment only and attend an educational session in the interpretive center where attendees will learn about the history of Manitou, the unique geological features and also the fragile biodiversity inside the cave. Along with other wildlife like bats and salamanders, there is a rare snail inside the cave that exists nowhere else in the world. The Manitou Cave snail, called the Antrorbis brewerii, relies on the pure cave spring water for existence. On the tour, visitors are sure to see a few of these special species. Since this location is a certified Trail of Tears Interpretive Center, visitors will learn about the history of the Trail of Tears and how this cave site fits into the Cherokee story in Willstown.
Site Information
Location (Located blocks from downtown Ft. Payne, Alabama; Contact Manitou Cave of Alabama for details)
- Annette F. Reynolds, manitoucaveofal@gmail.com
Physical Description
Guests drive up to the interpretive center along a residential street. Pulling into the designated parking area, visitors will immediately view the midcentury modern interpretive center and notice the pink limestone block and unique historic architecture of the building. From the parking lot, to the left of the restored building, the wooded line of trees slightly opens up to view the gravel pathway leading up a winding path with series of stairs reaching higher elevations to the mouth of the cave. Visitors taking this path will view rock walls towering above the path. A metal bridge leads to steps rising up to the cave entrance. On the right of the cave trail is the spring flowing from the inside of the cave. The cave temperature is a constant 56 degrees all year round. Once inside the cave, visitors might view species including salamanders and bats. Touching or leaning on the limestone walls is prohibited to protect the historic record and fragile ecosystem. Concrete steps and steel and wood bridges run throughout the course of the interior pathway. This pathway hugs tightly to the spring that runs almost the entire length of the cave. Water features flowing around rock formations run the entirety of the tour. Remnants of Cold War fall-out shelter provisions litter some cave chambers and can be seen from the path. Signatures of human visitors dating back to the Cherokee in the early 1800’s to men who mined here during the Civil War in the 1860's and 1870's that have lasted centuries along the cave walls are throughout the tour. Cherokee syllabary can be seen along the walls and on the ceiling in some areas. After about thirty minutes of walking, the cave pathway opens up to a 90’ x 60’ chamber. This chamber was used by people in the late 1800's was to dance to live music. The chamber is the turn-around point for guests on group tours. The walk back to the cave opening is also approximately 30 minutes.
Once guests return to the interpretive center, there is a grassy lawn that gradually slopes downward to the picnic tables overlooking the spring run and native plants. Picnic tables line the lower elevation for wildlife viewing along the creek. Guests are accommodated in the interpretive center with a pre-tour educational session which provides an informational backdrop to enhance the experience of the cave tour. The interpretive center is designed as an open floor-plan classroom and kitchenette. A handicap accessible restroom is located on the right side of the visitors center across the breezeway that separates the restroom from classroom space. Different groups experience different needs, so accommodations should be communicated when the tour appointment is made. The grounds and cave are natural spaces and are therefore not ADA accessible. The restrooms, interpretive area and grassy area is ADA accessible, so guests who are unable to make the tour are welcome to these spaces as well as the classroom orientation.
Cave tour guests: Inside the cave, the path is clay. Please wear or bring appropriate footwear that secures to the foot. Boots and tennis shoes are appropriate as flipflops and slick-sole shoes are not.The paths inside and outside the cave are all natural. They are not ADA accessible. There is a gravel path with a series of stairs and landings to get to the cave entrance. Guests must capable of climbing many steps and enduring a one hour walk for the cave tour.The inside of the cave is not lighted. Cave guests must bring a good flashlight. To enjoy all the signatures and Cherokee syllabary, a good, bright beam flashlight is recommended.The inside of the cave is cool and stays 56 degrees all year round. Guests should wear layered clothing for all weather conditions. Guests are encouraged to bring clothes to change into after the tour for traveling comfort post-tour.Once inside the cave, the tour does not turn around unless there is an emergency. Come prepared to complete the tour in its entirety as the tour guides must accompany guests at all times. Guests wanting to leave on their own are not permitted to do so.Food and drinks/water are not permitted inside the cave.Release forms are required for tours. Tour pricing is by donation only and is up to the discretion of the guest.