A Bit of Local History

Prior to the arrival of the German Palatine Settlers in the Schoharie Valley in the early 1700s, the Indians knew what they called "Otsgaragee" or "Cave of the Great Galleries." In historical records, there is some disagreement as to this translation, which suggests the Indians explored deep into the cavern. A second translation is "Great Valley Cave," which may be more accurate, as many believe the Indians' superstitions may have kept them from exploring the cave.

The first white man to enter the cave did so in the early 1770s. Perhaps Johnathan Schmul, a peddler, had been calling on families in the mill town of Kobel's Kill (today, Cobleskill) when he sought refuge from an Indian attack by hiding at the entrance to the cave. Schmul later confided in a local pastor, Rev. John Peter Resig, "I found a cave when the Indians were after me. That's my home. But be mum about this. Should war break out, then flee to this cave and you will be safe." Schmul and Resig vanish quite suddenly from the historical records, as did the Indians of the Schoharie Valley, who fled the area with their Tory counterparts at the end of the American Revolution.

How We Got Our Name

Little was known or remembered of Otsgaragee by the early 1800's when Lester Howe, his wife Lucinda, and their three infant children - Huldah Ann, Harriet Elgiva and Halsey John - settled in the valley east of Cobleskill. The location of the cave entrance had been lost to history, but there was talk of a mysterious "blowing rock" - a strange rocky ledge from which a cool breeze of air emanated on even the hottest days.

Howe and his family farm were located adjacent to the caverns' hidden entrance. (The farmhouse foundation stood until I-88 was built. This was on Dug Road, just east of Boreali's Restaurant.) There is no doubt Howe was fascinated by stories of the strange local phenomenon "blowing rock." Reports of the day placed its location just north of the "Kobles Kill" and ten miles west of the Schoharie River - on or near his property.

There are several different accounts of the caverns' history, but the most often told (shortened for the touring public) is that Howe found the cave by accident on the 22nd of May, 1842. On many hot summer days he noticed his cows pastured in this same spot, not on his land, but land owned by neighbor and friend, Henry Wetsel. When Howe approached his herd, he began to notice the temperature getting cooler. His dairy herd had gathered near the cave's hidden entrance to feel the cool air coming from below, and Howe had indeed found the mysterious "blowing rock" and gave credit, in particular, to a cow named "Millicent" for helping with the discovery. Howe then entered the cave with his neighbor Henry Wetsel.

The Making of a Local Legend

Much to the concern of his wife, Howe, "with commendable curiosity," returned to his discovery day after day with Wetsel. There is no first-hand account of Howe's first explorations. He and Wetsel ventured a little farther into the cave on each trip and emerged wet, muddy, and exalted by the thrill of their discoveries. A piece of tin was hammered into a lamp to burn whale oil as their source of light. Eventually they explored nearly a mile and a half of underground passageways, all by the dim, flickering light of a small oil lamp. They also built a raft to cross the lake as we know it today.

Improvements in the cave began almost immediately, and Howe's announcements to the press compared his cave to Kentucky's great Mammoth. By the end of 1842, Howe and Wetsel had cleared the property near the entrance and cleared mud, clay and stone from the cave's stream passage to make it more easily traversed. Howe hit on an ingenious plan for utilizing the water. He first loosened the clay, gravel and broken rocks; then stopping the other outlets, he flooded the main channel and thus forced the stream to sweep out its own deposits.

Howe purchased the property from Wetsel in February 1843 for $100. The land records use the name "Howe's Cataract Cave" in the description of the transaction. At age 33, Lester Howe opened Howe's Cave as the country's third commercial cave venture. What became of Henry Wetsel is not part of the historical record, and Wetsel is rarely mentioned in any connection with Howe's Cave. Nearby, Wetsel Hollow Road still winds its way from his former property over the hill to the village of Schoharie.

The First Tours

In 1843, Howe built his first cave house hotel at the natural entrance site. The earliest paid explorations through Howe's Cave were real adventures. Howe charged fifty cents to take early adventurers on a torchlit, 8-10 hour caverns tour. Torches, flambeaus, or lanterns were the most common means of light. (The latter two are on display at the Caverns' museum.)

Often to their chagrin and amusement, visitors were provided with clothing suitable for the caverns trip through mud, clay and 42-degree water. They were provided with straw hats, cowhide shoes, ungainly overalls and blouses. The ladies often wore navy blue flannel suits, trimmed with white braid. A box lunch was provided for the halfway point, and many visitors returned to the Cave House for a hearty meal and drink at the conclusion of their tour. Howe, as tour guide, provided entertainment for his guests.

By 1845, the Howe family Cave House needed an addition to accommodate the growing number of guests. This first hotel burned in 1847. When building the replacement, Howe located the northern wing of the new spacious hotel directly above the caverns' entrance. Visitors entered the cave through a stairway in the basement, and the cool air from the cave circulated through the hotel. This provided guests with an early form of natural air conditioning. Meals were provided in the dining room, and at night the guests were entertained by Howe or one of his daughters at the family piano.

On September 27, 1854 as a publicity stunt, Harriet Elgiva Howe wed Hiram Shipman Dewey in a natural loft called the Bridal Chamber, just within the caverns' entrance.

The coming of the railroad prompted great excitement, and many more visitors could come tour the cave, arriving at the station established at Howe's Cave, an easy walk to the Cave House Hotel. The number of guests increased steadily. Howe's Cave became a leading New York attraction, second only to Niagara Falls, as it is today.

Howe prospered. He continued to add to his property and make improvements to the cave, seriously overextending himself in the process. Then in January of 1872, the second Cave Hotel burned, and at about the same time, the public's interest in caves waned. With the number of visitors declining steadily, Howe entered into a joint stock agreement with railroad magnate/politician Joseph H. Ramsey and two other partners to keep his small empire afloat and finance a third construction of the hotel. Ramsey was an astute businessman (and the president of the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad) and realized the value of Howe's Cave for other, more industrial purposes: there was a huge market for cement and plaster as building material, and the limestone of Howe's Cave would be worth a small fortune. Ramsey, on several occasions, offered to buy Howe's interest in the cave, but Howe refused. He loved the caverns too deeply. Finally, when Howe was 59 and increasingly eccentric, Ramsey succeeded.

Howe retired to his property across the valley. From his front porch, he watched train cars of visitors load and unload at the Howes Cave depot and watched smoke rise from the cement kilns. For the next 45 years, no one toured Howe's underground world. It would take a new generation of explorers to bring back Howe's Cave for all the world to see. In May of 1929, Howe Caverns once again opened, this time as a corporation, for public tours.

"If Lester's loss of ownership (of the cave) bothered him in later years... he should not be remembered in this context. Lester's real importance to Howe Caverns was not his discovery and one-time ownership but his exploration, development, and presentation of those phenomena to the world. By contrast, which individual or group achieved ultimate ownership is trivial. The latter will pass, but Lester Howe's idea and the efforts he made to make the cave an opportunity for human wonder, delight, and learning will live on." -- quoted by descendant Warren Howe.

Today, Howe Caverns is open all year for guided tours, shopping, gemstone mining, food and drink. The 400-acre estate also includes a year-round motel and seasonal petting farm.

Please note: historical excerpts taken from The Remarkable Howe Caverns Story by Dana Cudmore, The Overlook Press, Woodstock, NY, Copyright 1990.