Attractions

The Great Saltpetre Cave is a notable limestone cave located in Rockcastle County in southeastern Kentucky. During the War of 1812, it served as an important source of saltpeter, a vital component of gunpowder.Robert Baker discovered the cave in the late eighteenth century. A stream ran through the cave, and was wide enough so that oxcarts could be used to bring the saltpeter above ground. However, torchlights had to be used to light the cave so that workers could mine the saltpeter from the ground.At the cave, calcium nitrate, also called niter, is leached from dry soil. When Doctor Samuel Brown, a Transylvania University professor of anatomy, chemistry, and surgery, gave in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1806 the first scientific description of Kentucky's saltpeter production, he drew mainly from the experiences of the Great Saltpetre Cave. As with most saltpeter caves, the land above the cave is a hardwood forest-covered plateau. Typically the saltpeter would be sent to Lexington, Kentucky to be made into gunpowder.During the War of 1812, sixty to seventy men were employed to mine the cave of its saltpeter, deemed necessary as British blockades prevented saltpeter shipments from overseas. Many of the workers at the cave were slaves. To a lesser degree the cave was also mined during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. During the later war, the Union soldiers that worked at the cave also lived in the cave, due to its year-around temperature giving respite from cold winters and hot summers.

The cave is now normally closed to visitors, except for the annual Open House held the weekend after Mother's Day. The remainder of the grounds consist of a natural preserve consisting mostly of pasture and woodlands. The property is managed for historical purposes in an attempt to preserve a part of Kentucky's natural beauty for generations to come.

Website: https://gsp.caves.org/