Hello y'all. I know it has been quite some time since I have blogged and I promise I didn't mean for it to be this long. Between our summer season beginning at the park, chasing the kiddos, daily duties at home and everything in between it has been hard to sit down and compose a post. My husband Jesse has been working hard as well, sometimes seven days a week so our weekend traveling doesn't happen as often (which is upsetting). I am having park exploring, back road riding and hiking withdraws badly today so maybe a blog post will help ease that!
On March the 5th, Jesse and I visited the Russell Cave National Monument. In 1951, a crew from the Tennessee Valley Authority was surveying land for power lines I believe in Doran’s Cove located in the Northeast corner of Alabama. One crew member Paul H. Brown, was told about projectile points that were found along the route. Because Brown was an amateur archaeologist and a member of the Chattanooga Chapter of the Tennessee Archaeological Society,the crew felt that he would be interested in their discovery. Looking at a map of the area, Brown noticed a cave situated back into Montague Mountain close to where the points were found. He thought if the cave was habitable then it would be a good place to look for projectile points and other artifacts. However this cave was on private property owned by a Mr. Oscar Ridley.
In 1953, Oscar Ridley who owned the land that included the cave, signed an agreement authorizing archaeological excavations there. Paul Brown was joined by Charles Peacock, LeBaron Pahmeyer and J.B. Graham, all amateur archeologists. A large amount of artifacts were found over two years ofexcavations that led to the recognition of an important site now known as Russell Cave. The contents of their excavations were brought to the attention of Dr. Matthew W. Stirling, Director of the Smithsonian Institute’s Bureau of American Ethnology. Since National Geographic assisted Dr. Stirling on previous projects, he thought that they would be interested in Russell Cave.
On September 13, 1956, National Geographic Society purchased 310 acres of farm land, including the cave shelter, from Oscar Ridley. Unfortunately, Smithsonian funds were not available for excavations. National Geographic wanted to preserve the cave shelter for scientific study, so they funded the excavation. Dr. Stirling requested Carl Miller of the Smithsonian Institute to lead the excavations in Russell Cave for two years. During this time, several thousand artifacts were found ranging from projectile points to human burials. Projectile points found here revealed prehistoric people lived at Russell Cave dating back approximately 10,000 years.
In 1958, National Geographic Society donated the land to the American people. Russell Cave National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation on May 11, 1961 by John F. Kennedy.
At 7.5 miles, Russell Cave is the 3rd longest cave in Alabama although it is the history of the people that lived here that has made this site nationally significant. Aside from Russell Cave there are over 1,500 caves that have been explored in Jackson County. This calculates to more caves per square mile than anywhere else in America. Caving is permitted in many north Alabama caves however; access to Russell Cave is limited to the geologically unusual cave entrance. This flat, protected space is where artifacts have been found dating back to some of the earliest human occurrences in North America.
Like most National Parks, admission to Russell Cave National Monument is free to visitors!
Contact the Park
Address:
3729 County Road 98
Bridgeport, AL 35740
Phone:
(256) 495-2672 x113
On our way back home from Russell Cave, we made a detour through Sewanee and stopped at the Sewanee Natural Bridge. Jesse and I have both have explored it before but it is one of those places that just never gets old!
Sewanee Natural Bridge in Franklin County is a 25 feet high natural sandstone arch with a span of 50 feet. It is essentially a giant sinkhole partially eroded to form a large stone bridge. A wet weather spring located behind the bridge in a rock cave probably contributed to the erosion forming the arch. It is called the Sewanee Natural Bridge as it was once owned by the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is a 3-acre designated state natural area.
I was so excited to come across this little fella hanging out underneath the bridge! He made me miss my days working at Cumberland Caverns, I always loved coming across these little brown bats. The little brown bat usually hibernates in caves and mines. During summer it often inhabits buildings, usually rather hot attics, where females form nursing colonies of hundreds or even thousands of individuals. Where most males spend the summer is unknown, but they likely are solitary and scattered in a variety of roost types. Colonies usually are close to a lake or stream. This species seems to prefer to forage over water, but also forages among trees in rather open areas. When foraging, it may repeat a set hunting pattern around houses or trees. It eats a variety of insects, including gnats, crane flies, beetles, wasps, and moths. Insects usually are captured with a wing tip, immediately transferred into a scoop formed by the forwardly curled tail and interfemoral membrane, and the grasped with the teeth. Most mating occurs in autumn, but may also occur at the site of hibernation. Sperm are stored until spring, when fertilization occurs. One young is born in May, June, or early July. When the mother is at rest during the day, she keeps the baby beneath a wing. The lifespan of the little brown bat may be more than 20 years. There is your dose of bat information for the day!
I thought this was pretty neat. I tried doing some research and didn't find any accurate information on these fellas. If you all have any luck, I'd love to see what you find!
The Natural Bridge can be a little difficult to find but if you type in Natural Bridge Road, Sewanee, TN 37375 it usually works.
I hope you will explore both the Russell Cave National Monument and the Sewanee Natural Bridge and enjoy them as much as we did!
Happy Travels,
Tessa