Mammoth Cave National Park is the longest cave system in the world. The sign proclaiming that 426 miles have been discovered has to be digital so that it can be adjusted yearly as more passageways are discovered.

We got a chance to go inside for a couple of hours on a guided tour that focused on the history of the cave.

Several thousand years ago the we know the cave was explored by Natives up to ten miles! We know they went in and collected different minerals off the rocks and left their torches behind but we are completely unsure of what the purpose was of this ancient mining. A worthy question for a future curious scientist. 

More recently in the early 1700’s the discovery of dirt made the cave suddenly more valuable. Not just any dirt, Kentucky cave dirt, when treated it can create Saltpeter; a necessary ingredient for black gunpowder. Slaves ran and developed the caves until this area became a successful powerhouse in the saltpeter industry throughout the war of 1812.

By the end of the war a new way emerged to make the cave profitable. Tourism. People just like Amy and I paid money in order to be taken deep within the cave and then experience the otherworldly environment. The tours, which used lanterns to light the way, would often be between 6-14 hours.

If you were lucky, you might be guided by the legendary slave guide Stephen Bishop. The fearless Bishop was the first to explore the depths of the cave, crossing bottomless pits and climbing walls where others had previously turned back. Later he would be the first to discover Mammoth Caves eyeless fish. 

It’s unimaginably hard to understand how these industries were built on the backs of slave labor, and its equally difficult to try and explain this history to your children, but seeing the museum exhibits, reading Bishop’s story, and then viewing the massive hollowed out rooms deep in the cave help add to my ability to understand what life must have been like for a black slave during those times and the unimaginable struggles they faced. We don’t shy away from these stories because I think it’s important for my kids to try to understand the history of race in America.

When we were leaving the park we noticed for the first time that some signs had been attached to each exit and entrance. These signs were put up at every National Park this week. They ask you to please report any information that you perceive is negative about Americans… 

Americans, even the great ones, were not perfect, and we create silly and sometimes dangerous expectations by expecting our ancestors to have been infallible. Without reality, we will learn nothing in which to improve while also becoming obsessed with the false premise that everything was so great “back in the day.” 

Will the story of the great American Stephen Bishop disappear because it makes the Branford family look bad for slave ownership. The equivalent of teaching how the great and friendly Christopher Columbus came to America and saved the Indians. You can’t erase history, and it’s more important than ever to try to understand it.