Student Park Cave
Welcome to the Student Park Cave (a.k.a Potato Cave).
Owned by Southern Adventist University and Managed by the School of Education and Psychology, this cave is an educational and recreational resource for students, Southern employees and the community. Though there is a gate, the cave is not closed. We would love to invite you to come and explore inside. Here are three ways to access this cave.
1. Explore the cave with a small group (contact us for the key access instructions).
2. Join us for Open Access Day, the first Saturday of each month when the cave will be open to the public.
3. Enroll in our caving class, EDOE 152
For more Information or key access, call the School of Education and Psychology at 236-2765 or email the cave manager at mhills@southern.edu.
People have known about the Student Park Cave since long before there was a university here. One legend says that in the 1830s when the Cherokee Indians were being moved to Oklahoma, a few Indian chiefs hid tribal objects in the cave. Supposedly a group of Cherokees returned in the early 19-hundreds to retrieve the objects.
During the Civil War, Major John Cleveland lived where the university is now. He fought as a Union soldier, but his brother fought as a Confederate soldier. The brother was wounded and Major Cleveland hid him in this cave and nursed him back to health.
Mrs. Grace Thatcher, who's husband sold this land to the school, told of various formations of colored stalagmites and stalactites in the cave, but they have since been destroyed by vandals. Mrs. Thatcher also remembered a large lake with fish in it. During the summer, cool air rushed out of the cave and in the winter, warm air. One year the Thatchers kept watermelons fresh in the cave until Christmas.
The cave is located in what was once a lime quarry, and the entrance to the cave was originally just a small hole. It was partially blocked by a large boulder. During the 1970's, the boulder was removed and the entrance widened and gated so the cave could be used as cool storage for the university's garden produce. They called it the "Potato Cave." Several years later, they closed the cave and in the following years made various attempts to keep vandals out. But people kept breaking in, damaging the cave with graffiti, trash, and other vandalism.
In 1981, William Shrewsbury, was the first to take an interest in the scientific realm of the cave. He created a three-dimensional map of the cave using a compass, cyclometer and tape measure. Thanks to his work, we have a detailed and accurate map of the cave. Now, under the management of the School of Education and Psychology, through the Outdoor Leadership Program the cave is once again open for exploration.
