Near Childersburg in Talladega County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
DeSoto Caverns
Photographed by TRCP Alliance, July 23, 2011
1. DeSoto Caverns Marker
Named for the famous Spanish explorer who traveled through this area in 1540. Over its rich history it offered shelter for native Indians for centuries (a 2,000-year-old Woodland Period burial was excavated by archeologists in the mid-1960s), became the first officially recorded cave in the U.S. (1796), and served as a Confederate gunpowder mining site during the Civil War.
One of the largest show caves in the southeastern U.S., the main room of the caverns stands 12-stories high and is as large as a football field. The caverns' onyx-marble stalagmites and stalactites are among the most concentrated accumulations to be found in America.
Erected 1999 by Alabama Historical Association.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Natural Features. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1540.
Location. 33° 18.356′ N, 86° 16.675′ W. Marker is near Childersburg, Alabama, in Talladega County. It can be reached from DeSoto Caverns Pkwy (State Highway 76). Marker located next to the park's main entrance gate off the parking area. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5181 DeSoto Caverns Pkwy, Childersburg AL 35044, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in East Alabama. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers.
this page online
Also see . . . DeSoto Caverns From Wikipedia. (Submitted on July 25, 2011, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama.)
Photographed by TRCP Alliance, July 23, 2011
2. DeSoto Caverns Marker Next To Pedestrian Entrance
Photographed by TRCP Alliance, July 23, 2011
3. East Bound View of the Entrance To DeSoto Caverns Park.
Photographed by TRCP Alliance, July 23, 2011
4. DeSoto Caverns Gift Shop.
The cave entrance is to the right of the gift shop. The gift shop is where the cave tour starts.
Photographed by TRCP Alliance, July 23, 2011
5. Man-made cave entrance for easy access into the cave.
Photographed by TRCP Alliance, July 23, 2011
6. The original cave entrance.
This was once the main entrance into the cave before the man-made tunnel was added. Tour groups entering the cave through this now sealed entrance encountered a series of 83 steps that descended to the floor of the main room.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 25, 2018. It was originally submitted on July 25, 2011, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,815 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 25, 2011, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
