Meramec Caverns

The history of Meramec Caverns is rich with the treasures of time. Going back through the centuries, local tribes if Indians used the cave as shelter. Later in the 1700's, a French miner, Jacques Renault, founded one of the Cavern's greatest natural resources, saltpeter. This substance was used exclusively for the manufacture of gunpowder. During the Civil War, a Federal powder mill in the cave was blown up by Confederate guerrillas of whom Jesse James was a member. Local legend also says that the cave was used as a station on the "Underground Railroad" to hide escaping slaves. In the early 1870's, Jesse James and his band returned to the Cavern on numerous occasions because it afforded a complete hideout for men and horses after train and bank robberies. Guided tours by trained rangers are conducted along well-lighted walkways. All cavern facilities are accessible to the disabled. On tour visitors will see both the rarest and largest cave formations in the world.