Cathedral Caverns State Park
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Cathedral Caverns State Park is located in Grant, Alabama city limits. The cave was first developed as an attraction by Jay Gurley in the late 1950s.
The Cathedral Caverns entrance opening measures 126 feet wide and 25 feet high. The Caverns is approximately 4,000 feet long with 8' wide concrete walkways that are wheelchair accessible.
Inside the cavern, stalagmites, stalactites and the World's largest stalagmite, called Goliath, that reaches the ceiling of the cave some 45 feet above.
Mr. Gurley maintained the cave as a tourist attraction from 1959 to 1982. The State of Alabama bought the cave in 1987 with the intent to reopen the site as a state park. After funding delays, restoration work actually began in 1995. In May 2000, the Cavern re-opened to the public.
In 1995, Cathedral Caverns provided the cave settings for the Disney Studios film "Tom & Huck".
Archaeological excavations at the mouth of Cathedral Caverns have indicated occupation by Native Americans 2,000 years ago, and perhaps as early as 8000 B.C.
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Protected Areas of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |
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State Parks | Bladon Springs | Blue Springs | Buck's Pocket | Cathedral Caverns | Chattahoochee | Cheaha | Chewacla | Chickasaw | Desoto | Florala | Frank Jackson | Gulf | Joe Wheeler | Lake Guntersville | Lake Lurleen | Lakepoint | Meaher | Monte Sano | Oak Mountain | Paul M. Grist | Rickwood Caverns | Roland Cooper | Wind Creek |
State Forests | Fayette | Geneva | Little River | Saint Stephens | Weogufka |
National Parks and Forests | Horsehoe Bend | Little River Canyon | Russell Cave | Tuskegee Airmen | Tuskegee Institute | Conecuh | Talladega | Tuskegee | William B. Bankhead |