Crystal Caverns, legend tells us, was discovered in the winter of 1854 by an unnamed farmer investigating a thin spiral of smoke in the woods. What he found was fog rising from a deep sink hole. Bare of snow in the center, with frost hanging thick on the shrubs, and briars where the warm mist rose, the sink was obviously an entrance to a sizable cavern.
The identity of Crystal Cavern’s first explorers is also unknown. They were simply local men seeking adventure. Opening the entrance was difficult, though some suspected Indians once climbed into the dark, forbidding chasm, lowering themselves over seventy-five feet to the boulder strewn floor.
From 1854 to 1924 Crystal Caverns was nothing more than an interesting place to explore, the wondrous beauty seen by only a few. During this time the property was purchased by Clifford Eidson.
Eventually, the cavern was inherited by his son Phillip, and daughter Jemima Eidson McFarlin. Jemima, her husband John and brother Phillip opened the cavern to the public in 1924. Guests descended through a trap door using a wooden ladder, their way lighted by lanterns.
John and Jemima's son Thomas helped with the tours as a young man, but upon returning from the war became interested in banking, and is now president of the Bank of Selina in Oklahoma.
When husband and brother had passed away "Aunt Jemima," as she was fondly called, continued to manage the Business, and conduct most of the tours.
Late in the 1960's Mrs. McFarlin's family discovered that her battle with diabetes had left her ninety per cent blind. No one knows how long she had been giving tours with nothing but memory to guide her. After forty years, Crystal Caverns was closed.
In 1970 Mrs. McFarlin's nephew, Herman Hutchens and his wife Jessie persuaded "Aunt" Jemima to allow them to lease and reopen the cavern. Together with Don and Wilma Hall, they reestablished the tourist attraction. They controlled the business until 1977. By this time "Aunt" Jemima's health had deteriorated. She no longer managed her estate, and son Thomas became executor.
In August of 1977 Gary and Linda Sartin obtained a twenty year lease to Crystal Caverns. Three years later, Jemima McFarlin passed away. With daughters Melissa and Angela, and son Eric, the Sartins continue to conduct tours through this unusual and beautiful cavern.
Crystal Caverns, known as the "Gem Cave of the Ozarks" is visited yearly by thousands from around the world. A living, growing cavern, it is famous for having the largest variety of formations of any cave in the United States. Rarities that can be seen are, Calcite ice, black stalactites, and aragonite crystals. The deepest room on the tour is thirteen and a half stories underground. Called the fossil room, it displays an entire ceiling of Paleozoic ocean fossils dating back three hundred million years. A rare crianoid head is displayed as part of each tour. The tour route is a half mile long, but the cavern extends far beyond the tour boundaries. Thus far, over two miles of passages have been discovered in each direction leading from the cavern entrance, but it has never been fully explored.
by Linda Sartin |
