Zane Shawnee Caverns

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The Zane Shawnee Caverns is a cave system located in Jefferson Township in Logan County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. The caverns are a show cave, presently owned by the United Remnant Band of the Shawnee Nation. These caverns are located near the Ohio Caverns; both cave systems were formed by the same glacial process which deposited moraine upon nearby Campbell Hill.

[edit] History and site features

The land adjacent to Zane Shawnee Caverns was used as a thoroughfare for the Shawnee, as it provided a portage between the Great Miami River and the rivers feeding into Lake Erie (particularly the Maumee River). However, the caverns were not known to modernity until it was discovered in 1892, when John Dunlap rescued a boy and a dog from a sinkhole. The caverns were named the Zane Caverns, after the nearby village of Zanesfield.

The caverns were operated as a show cave throughout most of the 20th century. In 1996, the Shawnee Nation, URB purchased the caverns and surrounding land, and renamed the site as the Zane Shawnee Caverns. The URB continues to operate the caverns as a show cave, and have also founded a Native American museum on the site. This museum is among the few Native American museums owned and operated by a Native American tribe.

Also on the caverns site is "Southwind Park", a camping and retreat area which hosts URB events. A small permanent settlement has also been erected at the site; this settlement is similar to a reservation, but is not managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

[edit] Inside

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Inside the cave are many rare formations and many cave-law defying formations, such as cave pearls, claws, cave pearl nests on ledges, colder temperatures, and odd growth periods.