History Of Lewis And Clark Caverns Is Studded With Firsts

Diane Tipton, FWP Information Officer

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Deciding when to celebrate the creation of Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, the first of Montana’s now 42 State Parks, isn’t as easy as it sounds.

The Caverns were a total mystery when "first" discovered in 1892 by Thomas Williams, a local rancher, and his hunting partner Burt Pennell. Williams and his adventurous group of friends used ropes, picks and candles in 1898 to descend into the opening of the Caverns that locals began to call the "Discovery Hole."

Their flickering light revealed massive formations of flowing rock unimaginably twisted and colored in various natural shades. The explorers, awed by what they saw, were forced to break stalactites and stalagmites to enter areas where no one had been before.

It wasn’t long before the explorers talked a local businessman, Dan Morrison, into making the Caverns more accessible. Morrison’s mining experience, and his access to capital as manager of the Jefferson Lime and Flux Company, made him a natural choice. As the Caverns became more accessible, Morrison began conducting tours.

Word of Morrison’s project hit the Anaconda Standard, Montana’s largest newspaper at the time, in 1901. Morrison continued leading tours as he fought and lost an argument with the Northern Pacific Railroad over the rightful ownership of the 160 acres surrounding the Cavern’s entrance.

When the court decided in favor of the Northern Pacific, the railroad turned around and deeded the land to the Federal government in 1908, leading the way for President Theodore Roosevelt to proclaim the area the "Lewis and Clark Cavern National Monument" on May 11, 1908. With scarce federal funding the Caverns remained undeveloped, but locals continued their explorations to the dismay of the National Park Service representative who annually traveled to the Caverns to install a padlock on the cavern entrance. After each NPS visit however, Morrison arrived to saw off the federal lock and replace it with his own. So, in typical old Montana style, the tours went on until Morrison’s death in 1932.

Around that time, federal interest in the Caverns waned and the State wanted to take on the site, but couldn’t afford to develop it. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corp was the solution. It took some high-level political jockeying, but Montana finally won a CCC camp of workers whose job, beginning in 1935, was to develop the Caverns.

By 1941, the CCC had installed a lighting system and completed other underground work. Above ground, the trials, picnic areas, access roads and visitor center made reaching the Caverns easy and enjoyable.

August 24, 1937, by an Act of Congress, the land around the "Discovery Hole" was transferred to the State of Montana, making 1937 a very significant milestone for the Caverns, but not the definitive one.

That milestone is May 4, 1941 the day Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park was supposed to be dedicated as Montana’s first state park. Or maybe not. Perhaps the definitive date should be June 24, 1941 when the dedication ceremonies actually took place. The May event was postponed due to inclement weather at the site. This should have been no surprise, with the Caverns parking lot at almost 6,000 feet above sea level in the shadow of 10,125-foot Potosi Peak and 10,728-foot Hollow Top Mountain.

Then again, the Caverns remained closed to the public from 1943 to 1945 when World War II strained local and national economies. Since 1946 the park has been in continuous summer operation.

The question of when to celebrate the creation of Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park may be a silly one to begin with. There must have been some startling "firsts" we’ll never know about in the 4 million years it took to form the caverns. Most important is the result, a natural wonder that never fails to dazzle, amaze and mystify visitors.

Regardless of when we celebrate its creation, Lewis and Clark Caverns will always be the first of what has become a treasure store of very special places in Montana--our Montana State Parks.

Travel Information: Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park is 19 miles west of Three Forks on Montana Highway 2 or 17 miles east of Whitehall on Montana Highway 2.