Longhorn Cavern State Park
In Burnet County, Texas, in the United States of America, there is a state park that is known as Longhorn Cavern State Park. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, which also serves as the facility’s administrator, is in charge of operating the facility. In order to acquire the site from its previous private owners and turn it into Longhorn Cavern State Park, the state of Texas made the acquisition between the years of 1932 and 1937. The year 1932 marked the year that it was formally recognized as a state park, and the year 1938 marked the year that it opened its gates to the general public. In 1971, the cave was acknowledged by the United States Department of the Interior as a National Natural Landmark. The state of Texas designated the administration building of the park as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1989. This honor was bestowed upon the park.
Human History
The cutting action of an underground river that ceased running many years ago gave Longhorn Cavern, which is located within the park, its name. The cavern is known as Longhorn Cavern. Limestone was used to construct the cave. Native Americans, Confederate soldiers, and criminals like Sam Bass used the cave as a hiding place in the years preceding up to its metamorphosis into a major tourist site. During those years, the cave functioned as a hideout for a variety of people. The story that Sam Bass told is considered more of a myth than a truth that has been shown beyond a reasonable doubt.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, residents of the area transformed the cavern into a nightclub, and the performances that took place there were broadcast on the radio as far south as San Antonio. The evening would be jam-packed with exciting entertainment in the form of live performances by various musicians. Sherard’s Cave was the name of the well-known place prior to November 1933, when it was formally inaugurated as Longhorn Cavern State Park and made available to the general public for the first time. Between the years 1934 and 1942, members of Company 854 of the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed Texas Park Road 4, residences, pavilions, and an observation tower using elements of the National Park Service Rustic architectural style. In addition, they did an investigation of the cavern and made it more accessible by removing around 2.5 tons of guano, debris, and silt from the area, as well as erecting stairs and pathways leading into and throughout the cavern.
Steven Kurtz, the curator of Longhorn Cavern State Park, was responsible for reviving the tradition of holding chamber music performances inside the cave in 2006. This was accomplished by launching the Simple Sounds concert series in the year 2006.
An entire segment of one episode of Texas Country Reporter, which is a syndicated television series developed by Bob Phillips and starring Kaye Barlow as the tour guide, was devoted to the renaissance of chamber music. Texas Country Reporter is hosted by Barlow. On February 14, 2008, when a local band from Burnet County known as Redneck Jedi played there, dancers ultimately made their way back down to the cave floor. On April 4, 2008, Redneck Jedi made their way back to the dungeon to record their fifth album, which was released under the title Unplugged and Underground. This recording took place within the cave and was the first of its sort to ever take place there.
Fantastic Fest had an after party in 2008 for the movie “City of Ember,” which had just finished its premiere at the festival.
In the year 2012, a brand new lighting system was built in the area that is used for the cavern tours.
The year 2019 saw the cavern being utilized as a location for the filming of the episode of the interactive YouTube series “A Heist” titled “A Heist with Markiplier.”
Nature
The caves used to be home to a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats, but now only tricolored bats make their home there. In the past, Mexican free-tailed bats called these caves their home. These caverns were once the dwelling place of Mexican free-tailed bats in the past.
The park features about a mile of nature trails that are home to a great variety of birds, including the endangered golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo, as well as other types of avian life. Other species of avian life can also be found in the park.
Next Point of Interest: Katherine Fleischer Park