In 1795, an Irish pastor went down a hole in Central Pennsylvania and discovered a vast underground cave full of stalactites, stalagmites, and frigid water.<\/p>\n
On a recent Sunday morning in July, visitors simply had to go through the gift shop to visit Penn\u2019s Cave, the only all-water cavern in the country. The boat tours in the cave and the adjoining 1,400-acre wildlife park full of bison, wolves, elk, and one very large black bear attract thousands of visitors per year just east of State College in Centre County.<\/p>\n
According to several published reports in recent months, Penn\u2019s Cave and Wildlife Park, which opened in 1885 and has been run by the same family since 1908, is hoping to become Pennsylvania\u2019s 126th state park by transferring the property to the state\u2019s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Penn\u2019s Cave ownership and management declined to comment during a recent visit, directing The Inquirer to public statements made earlier this summer. <\/p>\n
Penn\u2019s Cave CEO Russ Schleiden, during a July 7 Centre County Commissioners meeting, said the decision was \u201cdifficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we feel that it\u2019s a very important part of not only Centre County, but the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and that it should be preserved in perpetuity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schleiden\u2019s daughter, Jeanine Watson, was brought to tears when she spoke to the commissioners. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want it to be preserved and to be taken care of,\u201d Watson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always felt we were the stewards of that. We would hate to see this go into development and, unfortunately, that would be the alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Watson said Penn\u2019s Cave had been discussing the proposal with DCNR for several years. She did not say why development would be the only alternative. <\/p>\n
The proposal received the support of Centre County\u2019s commissioners and State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, (R., Bellefonte). <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t think of a better time in our country and our county\u2019s history at the Semiquincentennial<\/a> to make this reality,\u201d Benninghoff said in July, according to statecollege.com. \u201cIf you want to look at Americana in its best, the park I think exemplifies that.\u201d<\/p>\n Benninghoff told The Inquirer that his proposed legislation did not make it into the state budget by July. <\/p>\n \u201cIt just didn\u2019t work out in this budget cycle. My ultimate goal is to preserve this property,\u201d Benninghoff said. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t ask for a better place to preserve.\u201d<\/p>\n Wesley Robinson, a DCNR spokesperson, said department staff has visited Penn\u2019s Cave and engaged in discussions about \u201cpotentially taking over stewardship of this significant geoheritage site.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPenn\u2019s Cave\u2019s natural and cultural resources could make it a strong addition to Pennsylvania\u2019s state park system and provide expanded opportunities for the public to access and enjoy the site,\u201d Robinson said in a statement. <\/p>\n Robinson said acquiring Penn\u2019s Cave may require legislation and that the agency would continue conversations with stakeholders. <\/p>\n Coincidentally, Pennsylvania\u2019s 125th state park is a former privately owned cave. Laurel Caverns State Park, in Fayette County, opened in April and is the first cave system to become a state park. <\/p>\n Laurel Caverns, the biggest cave system in Pennsylvania, opened as a tourist attraction in 1964. It\u2019s also home to the biggest bat hibernaculum \u2014 where animals can hibernate in winter \u2014 in the Northeast.<\/p>\n \u201cParks like Laurel Caverns give our kids a new place to learn, our families a place to make memories, and all of us a chance to get away, take a breath, and just enjoy nature,\u201d Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> said in April during a press conference in the cave.<\/p>\n Laurel Caverns was donated to the state. It\u2019s unclear how DCNR would take ownership of Penn\u2019s Cave if the process moved forward or what its operating costs would be. The attraction employs dozens of seasonal and full-time workers and includes a large gift shop and snack stand. <\/p>\n On a tour of Penn\u2019s Cave in July, a lone bat flapped around between the stalactites, but the experience is quite different from Laurel Caverns and would present a unique challenge to operate as a state park.<\/p>\n For one, visitors to Laurel Caverns walk through the cave system. Tours of Penn\u2019s Cave are conducted via boat with a guide, on a frigid, subterranean offshoot of Penns Creek that\u2019s filled with large rainbow trout.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the left here, we have our tallest stalagmite. We call this one our Statue of Liberty,\u201d guide Kara Hoffman explained.<\/p>\n Hoffman also discussed the cave\u2019s geology, early attempts at tours with torches, and its earliest visitors, the Indigenous Seneca who used the cave for shelter. <\/p>\n Laurel Caverns, with 400 acres above ground, does not offer camping. The Penn\u2019s Cave property is 1,500 acres, and consists of rolling farmland and animal enclosures. It\u2019s unclear if the state would maintain the wildlife exhibits, which include large elk, Texas longhorns, and mountain lions, but Benninghoff said he believed camping would be part of the state park.<\/p>\n