Ohio Frontier Trading Post and Ticket Office
Delaware, Ohio
Located just west of U.S. 23 is Olentangy Indian Caverns that has been attracting visitors continuously since the 1930s. The main attraction is of course the 100 foot deep labyrinth where an underground river once eroded the the thick layers of sandstone that were deposited here millions of years ago when this entire land was covered by an ocean.
Olentangy Indian Caverns are located less than a mile from the Olentangy River and about 4 miles east of the Scioto River / O'Shaughnessy Reservoir and about two miles north of the Columbus Zoo. You might be wondering what is the difference between a cavern and a cave. According to the Olentangy Indian Cavern tour guide a cave as an entrance where natural light can illuminate at least a portion of the cave. A cavern, which is usually larger in volume than a cave, has not external light which means if you turn off the lights it is darker than dark.
Entrance to the underground caverns
The beginning of the caverns (which will take you 105 ft. below the surface) begins and ends at the Richard F. Fletch Museum which has many artifacts associated with the caverns. If taking the guided tour you'll hear lots of details about the caverns and some of the peculiarities of the space. If taking a self-guided tour during off-season periods, there are buttons where you will hear audio about the history of the caverns.
Richard F. Fletch Museum
There are many interesting facts and sights here. There is a formation that is said to resemble Chief Leather Lips, a possible Indian burial ground, carvings in the walls dating back to the 1800s etc. If you stop at each area and listen to all of the history it can take 45 min. to an hour to make it all the way through. Once you make it back to the surface there is a trading post, a small petting zoo, a climbing wall, and an area that looks like an old western town.
According to the management of Olentangy Indian Caverns, the cave was first used as a gathering place for local Indians and as a storage depot. In the early 1800s a settler named J. Adams was camped near the hidden entrance to the cave. The next day one of his ox was missing and so a search began to find it. During this search he came across the entrance and could see his lost animal, dead at the bottom of the entrance. Adams went down to explore the cave and carved his name and date on the wall.
It is claimed that Chief Leatherlips was killed at the entrance to the cave, but this is doubtful. This claim is attributed to a book written in 1953 by Cleveland resident, Grace Goulder Izant, called This is Ohio in which she described people and events in all 88 of Ohio's counties. Chief Leatherlips was killed as related, but the event was described by several eyewitnesses to being along the cliffs of the Scioto River. There is a marker at 7377 Riverside Drive on the east side of the Scioto River, south of the Columbus Zoo that was erected in 1889, some 79 years after his death. Whether Chief Leatherlips ever visited the Olentangy Indian Caverns is pure speculation.
Today, the caverns are setup for either self-guided tours or guided tour that takes about 30 - 45 minutes depending on how many questions get asked and how chipper your guide is for the day. Totally worth it as the caverns are full of history that include Indian chiefs and stage coach thieves. During the tour you can expect to see the crystal room that glistens with tiny stalagmites, be able to peer down a deep pit where it is said there is an underground river, or squeeze through "fat man's misery".
Olentangy Indian Caverns at first glance, looks like a hokey tourist trap, but actually it is a unique experience to the explorer interested in Indian lore and a natural wonderland. For the geology student, the fossils and various rock strata provide some first hand educational information. For the tourist, a trip through the Caverns re-creates the days of when there were actually some Indian tribes in Ohio. The limestone caverns are naturally air conditioned, with year-round temperature a constant 54 degrees and the caverns are damp, so bring along appropriate clothing, even in the summer.
On the tour you'll descend 105' below the surface and explore the winding passages of this 3 level cave. The tour is an event that you will long remember, so bring your camera and wear sturdy shoes. The Olentangy Indian Caverns isn’t for the hard-core adventurer, but it’s a great experience for families, or if you're looking for something to do on a hot summer day.
A number of pre-historical artifacts that were discovered in the caverns suggest it could have been used as an Indian council room. There were also indication that Wyandot's used the caverns for making arrows and other stone implements until around 1810. Hundreds of these items were found when the caverns were opened and some are on display in the Gift Shop.
Several parts on the tour are tight fitting and you'll have to squeeze through a few areas. If you are overweight, handicapped or extremely tall, you may want to consider other options. However, if you do decide to visit the caverns, you'll wish you could spend more time there.
It has been speculated that the Olentangy Indian Caverns were used by the Wyandotte Native Americans as perhaps a secret meeting room or as a place of refuge from the weather or Delaware Indians. However, all of this is highly suspect. It is quite probable that early Mound Builders or perhaps Glacial Kame peoples or their descendents discovered the cavern and the narrow vein of flint that they used to create arrowheads and spear points. It is unlikely that when 18th Century Native Americans, including the Wyandottes, they would have already known about Flint Ridge and it's high quality flint.
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