OutdoorIllinois November 2010 Cave-In-Rock State Park

Cave-in-Rock State Park attracts chill-seeking history buffs.But did river pirates really hide out here?TheHolein theRiverStory and Photos ByJoe McFarland2 / OutdoorIllinois November 2010When it comes toold-fashionedpirate stories inIllinois, no destinationis betterknown for its dark history than theshadowy underworld at Cave-in-RockState Park in extreme southeast Illinois.Pirates lived here. Or so the stories go.Real river pirates. Thieves and murderouscon men. According to local legend, duringthe late 1700s and early 1800s, whenthe Ohio and Mississippi rivers of the Midwestwere still rough frontiers, bloodthirstypirates living at this massive, naturallimestone cave on the Ohio were saidto rule the region with fear. Operatingwith Cave-in-Rock as their hideout, they’dambush river flat boats, or pretend to behelpless travelers in need, then lure victimsto a dark, terrible fate.It all happened right here at Cave-in-Rock. Pirates galore. Or so the storiesgo. Of course, as with all great stories,verifiable facts don’t always matter.Today, historical scholars have deepskepticism about the many tales attributedto Cave-in-Rock, citing court testimoniesand original documents fromthe era that mention only one outlaw—the pirate Samuel Mason—who visited

(Photo by John Muchow.)the cave in 1797 but eventually fleddownstream to the Mississippi Riverwhere he was murdered by his ownmen in 1803. But whether or not piracyon the Ohio River ever was a majorproblem in the late 1700s and early1800s simply hasn’t mattered to mostpeople for more than 150 years. By themid-1800s, steamboat operators andother enterprising tour guides beganstopping at Cave-in-Rock to unload passengersfor a visit to what they allbelieved was the famous pirate cavealong the Ohio. By then, it had alreadybeen assumed as rock-solid knowledgethat this cavernous spot above thefamous river was the site where realpirates once lived. Since half a centuryhad passed since any witnesses to theThe huge, natural hideout known asCave-in-Rock along the Ohio River hasinvited visitors and pirate tales formore than 200 years.alleged river crimes had been here,nobody disputed the tales. And the fabulousstories of piracy on the riverscontinued. In fact, the variety of piratelegends seemed to increase: Outlawnames from unrelated atrocities documentedelsewhere were now includedin the oft-repeated and oft-publishedpirate stories of Cave-in-Rock.Piracy as an AttractionBy the mid-to-late 1800s, travel onthe Ohio River no longer represented avoyage into the lawless frontier. Visitorsto this famous natural landmark—the largest limestone cave of its kindalong the Ohio—came as sightseers,intentionally seeking out this attractionwithout fear. The piracy legend, firmlyestablished, was now synonymous withCave-in-Rock.Throughout much of the 20th century,the famous steamboat the DeltaQueen would stop at Cave-in-Rock tounload passengers for a firsthandglimpse of what everybody believedwas a pirate den. The historic town ofCave-in-Rock on the riverbanks (one ofIllinois’ oldest communities, although itwasn’t incorporated until 1901) representeda living connection to pirates asit welcomed travelers crossing on theCave-in-Rock ferry between Kentuckyand Illinois. Between the late 19th andearly 20th centuries, tourism-attractingbusinesses were set up in and aroundthe cave. By the mid-1900s, so wellentrenched was the legacy of piracyhere, when it came to selecting a filminglocation for the 1962 classic “HowStreams of visitors—includingJoe and Mary Patton of Arkansas—visit Cave-in-Rock a busy touristdestination.November 2010 OutdoorIllinois / 3

Four duplex cabins overlooking thehistoric Ohio River are available topark visitors for overnight lodging.Class A campsites, as well as tentcamping, also are available.the West Was Won,” no cave in Americabetter represented the home of riverpirates than Cave-in-Rock.By then, the amazing geologic wonderknown as Cave-in-Rock had beenacquired by the State of Illinois. Cavein-RockState Park, established in 1929,originally encompassed the cave itselfand 64.5 surrounding acres. Additionalland purchases brought the park’s sizeto 204 acres, which today includes acampground, picnic shelters, a restaurant-lodgeand deluxe cabins overlookingthe river.Although its relatively modest size of204 acres would seem to limit recreationalopportunities (there is no hunting programat the state park), travelers todayconsider Cave-in-Rock a must-see destinationwhen touring the scenic Ohio Riverin southeast Illinois. And there really ismuch to see and enjoy here.Hundreds of thousands of acres ofShawnee National Forest spread acrossrural southern Illinois between the Mississippiand Ohio rivers, making theroad to Cave-in-Rock both pastoral andbreathtaking in its woodland beauty.Nearby river towns, such as Elizabethtown,home of Illinois’ oldest operatinghotel—the Rose Hotel, built around1830—are historical treasures. The(Photo by Adele Hodde.)fabulous sandstone cliff formations atGarden of the Gods (soon to be picturedon a new Illinois quarter) are lessthan 20 miles away.In this sparsely populated region ofIllinois, the hundreds of thousands ofpeople who come to Cave-in-Rock eachyear can be from anywhere—and oftenare. Acting Site Superintendent KeithSpivey said vacationers and other visitorscommonly show up with accentsthat clearly aren’t local.“We have a lot of folks come downfrom Chicago,” Spivey explained. “Peoplefrom Indiana and Kentucky and allover the United States come here, aswell as from other countries.”Hang around the cave for a few minuteson any particular day and a steadyprocession of those unique people canbe seen strolling in. On a recent Augustafternoon, Joe and Mary Patton ofPottsville, Arkansas stepped down thehillside and along the boardwalk leadingup to the 55-foot-wide caveentrance and announced their mission.“We watched that movie recently,‘How the West Was Won,’” a grinningJoe Patton said. “So we came up here tomeet Jimmy Stewart and DebbieReynolds.” The Pattons, both retired, saidthey were midway through a casual vacation—Gardenof the Gods was their nextstop, they decided—and then onward.“We don’t have any plans,” Mary Pattonsaid proudly.Next came newlyweds Gregory andJessica Bergschneider of Champaign,who made Cave-in-Rock a destinationfor their first vacation together as husbandand wife.“We’re honeymooning, actually,”Gregory Bergschneider said with a hintof awkwardness. (We left them alone inthe cave.)No sooner had the newlyweds wanderedelsewhere then in came anotheryoung couple from upstate celebratingtheir two-week dating anniversary.Then came a pair of brothers, Mikeand Gary Barker from Mt. Carmel andAvon, Indiana—and Dwight Cox fromIndianapolis.Up in the campground, whichincludes 34 Class A and 14 Class B sites,vacationers Gary and Lucyanne Claflinof Fishers, Indiana were busy preparinga tent and oversized air mattress for theKaylor’s Restaurant within thestate park features family style diningfrom March 1 until the week beforeThanksgiving.4 / OutdoorIllinois November 2010