Society Talk Sheds Light on Cave's Storied History

The exact year of its discovery remains shrouded in mystery, but most people agree that the entrance to the underground labyrinth that's today known as was first breached sometime in the 1880s by a limestone quarrying operation then located on the outskirts of Hellertown.

For the sake of consistency, the year 1883 is generally provided as the year in which the caverns were discovered, co-owner Bob Gilman said.

However, because it would have been filled with sediment, the cave was probably cleared and explored in stages, over a number of years--which may explain the confusion over early dates related to its discovery--his sister and cave co-owner Beverly Rosewicz explained.

During an Oct. 12 presentation to members of the Lower Saucon Township Historical Society at Seidersville Hall, Gilman and Rosewicz were eager to share these and many other fascinating facts about the history of the landmark their grandfather--Erwin Clinton "E.C." Gilman--purchased in 1929.

E.C. Gilman, who was born in Vermont in 1894, is credited with laying the groundwork for the cave to become the well-known attraction that it is today.

However, long before he and his family arrived in the Saucon Valley via New York, the cave had already become a destination for local residents, Gilman and Rosewicz explained.

At the turn of the century, they noted, a trolley line ran east from Hellertown to a final stop near Rentzheimer's Grove, which was a popular picnic spot and the site of camp meeting "revivals" in those days.

The spur route would have also delivered riders to within walking distance of the cave, and may have been used by some of the young people who attended candlelit square dances inside its 52 degree chambers more than a century ago. 

By around 1910, Bob Gilman said, the trolley company's spur route had already halted service to the area. Although the reasons for its short-lived existence are unclear, he speculated that the increasing popularity of the automobile and the fading novelty of the line itself may have contributed to its demise.

Still, local residents continued to enjoy excursions to the cave, as evidenced by a circa 1910 photograph that was part of a slideshow presented by Gilman and Rosewicz.

The photo shows 10 well-dressed Edwardian gentlemen lounging in front of the cave's entrance--among them a boyish-looking Morris Dimmick, who would go on to become Hellertown's burgess for nearly two decades, as well as one of the most important political figures in the borough's history.

E.C. Gilman, who served in World War I, was 35 years old and the father of three young children when he moved his family to Hellertown after buying the cave at the end of the Roaring Twenties.

Access to the cave was still largely undeveloped, but he persevered, and in 1930 the cave officially opened as "Lost Cave," with a modest wooden building at its entrance. Still, it would be a number of years until tourism increased and the business became self-sustaining, Bob Gilman noted.

Fortunately for his family, E.C. Gilman was something of a Renaissance man, and he took full advantage of his talents in order to supplement his income from the nascent cave business--particularly during the Depression years.

Among other things, Gilman helped build local roads--including Hickory Hill Road and Seidersville Road--for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s; he raised chickens in an elaborate three-story coop near the entrance to the cave; he manufactured his own .22 caliber guns; and he showed movies at the cave on Saturday nights. He also served on Hellertown Borough Council, and at one point ran for burgess, losing by only a "few votes," Rosewicz said.

"This guy was into so many things, it was amazing," marveled Bob Gilman.

To give insight into the way his grandfather's mind worked, Gilman noted that one of the ways he was able to save money was by constructing three-sided buildings wherever possible.

At the site of Lost Cave's entrance, "he was able to save 25 percent of the cost of building the building by building against the quarry wall," he said.

And E.C. Gilman also helped engineer much of the publicity that would help make Lost River Caverns famous far beyond the Saucon Valley, including the 1949 "inside-the-cave" nuptials of his son, Bob Gilman Sr., which became worldwide news when a wire service picked up the unusual story.

In 1955, the current three-sided building that surrounds the entrance to the cave was constructed, and that was also the year the Hellertown High School football team enjoyed its winningest season ever, Rosewicz said.

Always enterprising, E.C. Gilman had hired the team to help clear the quarry wall around which the new building was constructed, and the work was so intense that the players developed a lot of muscle, which they put to good use against their opponents on the football field, she explained.

Today, the cave's famous "jungle garden" grows along that wall, underneath a massive skylight that brings in enough light to allow bananas and other tropical fruits to flourish.

A significant part of Lost River Caverns' business continues to be the gift shop located inside this steel-framed building, which sells a variety of souvenirs, gems, rocks and lapidary equipment, Rosewicz explained.

However, most people still visit the cave for the opportunity to see what life is like underground, and perhaps to try and figure out where the Lost River begins...or where it ends.

After more than a century of visitors--including some from the American Speliological Assocation, who surveyed the entire cave in the 1980s--the origin of the subterranean waterway is still a mystery, but it's a mystery that inspires a sense of wonderment in most who encounter it.

That was certainly the case with E.C. Gilman, and it continues to be the case for Rosewicz and Gilman, who remain devoted to running the unique local business that their grandfather founded more than 80 years ago.

"We're always optimistic that there's more cave to be found," said Bob Gilman, with a smile.

For more information about visiting the cave, visit www.lostcave.com.