Near Cave City in Barren County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)
Carnival Sunday
Mammoth Cave National Park
Photographed by Jason Voigt, September 28, 2025
1. Carnival Sunday Marker
Drawn by newspaper accounts, an estimated crowd of 10,000 people gathered around Sand Cave on Sunday, February 8th. If you were among the crowd that day you would have stopped at about this spot by a five-strand barbed wire fence constructed to keep people back from the rescue site.
The atmosphere was that of a carnival. Families picnicked, children frolicked, concession stands sold food and drink, and prayer groups formed - while moonshiners slipped in and out of the crowd.
Before long the crowd dispersed, leaving behind the rescuers working nonstop to sink a rescue shaft to Floyd.
(timeline aside:)
February 5 - National Guard Brigadier General Henry Denhart is placed in overall command of the rescue by the Governor of Kentucky
A 6'x 6' vertical shaft is begun to reach Floyd Collins under the supervision of engineer Henry Carmichael
February 7 - National Guard troops erect a five-strand barbed wire fence to secure the rescue site
February 8 - An estimated 10,000 people gather at Sand Cave
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
this page online
Location. 37° 9.218′ N, 86° 2.837′ W. Marker is near Cave City, Kentucky, in Barren County. It is on Sand Cave Trail north of Old Mammoth Cave Road, on the left when traveling north. Marker is on a hiking trail (0.1 mile long) that goes to the Sand Cave entrance (not open to the public), from a parking lot on Old Mammoth Cave Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1264 Sand Cave Trl, Cave City KY 42127, 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 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Rescue Site (within shouting distance of this marker); Location, Location, Location
Photographed by Jason Voigt, September 28, 2025
2. Carnival Sunday Marker
Marker is located off a hiking trail that leads to the Sand Cave entrance
Also see . . .
1. Floyd Collins on Wikipedia. (Submitted on October 5, 2025, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)
2. Mammoth Cave National Park (National Park Service). (Submitted on October 5, 2025, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 5, 2025, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 59 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 5, 2025, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.
