Mammoth Cave in Edmonson County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Old Guide's Cemetery

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 17, 2023

1. Old Guide's Cemetery Marker

Inscription. This cemetery, known as 'Old Guide's Cemetery," probably began as a slave cemetery. Others buried here were early visitors to Mammoth Cave. They share this resting place with cave guide Stephen Bishop, who died in 1857 and is the only known Mammoth Cave guide buried here.

Bishop was owned by Dr John Croghan, a physician and the proprietor of the Mammoth Cave Estate. A nineteenth-century tourist enterprise, the Mammoth Cave Estate was forerunner to what became Mammoth Cave National Park.

The Mammoth Cave Estate as drawn by Danish artist Fredrick Reichert shortly after Stephen Biship's death. Fire destroyed the estate in 1916.

Three of Dr. John Croghan's tuberculosis patients lie buried here. They lived their last days underground in consumptive huts in a failed hospital they shared with 13 other patients.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Environment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1857.

Location. 37° 11.209′ N, 86° 6.317′ W. Marker is in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, in Edmonson County. It can be reached from Mammoth Cave

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Entrance Road. Marker is located inside Mammoth Cave National Park near the Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Mammoth Cave Parkway, Mammoth Cave KY 42259, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave Country

and in the Pennyroyal Region.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: An African American Heritage (here, next to this marker); Historic Entrance (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Great War Monuments (about 600 feet away); Mammoth Cave National Park (approx. ¼ mile away); Stephen Tyng Mather (approx. ¼ mile away); Old Riverboat Landing (approx. ¼ mile away); World Treasure Saved (approx. ¼ mile away); Engine No. 4 (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, July 23, 2007

2. Old Guide's Cemetery Marker

of all markers in Mammoth Cave.

Also see . . . Stephen Bishop. Stephen Bishop was an early cave explorer and often considered the first guide at Mammoth Cave. Born as an African-American Slave, Bishop became world famous betwen 1838 and 1857 after he authored books and maps of Mammonth cave which were widely distributed, even spread overseas. (Submitted on August 28, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.)

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, July 23, 2007

3. Old Guide's Cemetery Marker

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, July 23, 2007

4. Old Guide's Cemetery Marker

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 17, 2023

5. Old Guide's Cemetery Marker

Marker is on the right.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 28, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 800 times since then and 50 times this year. Last updated on July 27, 2024, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Photos: 1. submitted on September 21, 2023, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 28, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 5. submitted on September 21, 2023, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.