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A fomer encampment site is now safe from development!
Fromthe Bowling Green Daily News December 13, 2003
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Preservation is key to Lost River Cave
It is rare to see nature as the pioneers and past generations saw it, but we still have that satisfaction in Lost River Cave and Valley.
On Thursday, it was announced that Raymond Cravens and Owen Lawson sold 41.6 acres of land to the Friends of Lost River Cave for $1.5 million.
This sale means that nearly all the land in the valley will be undeveloped, which is the way it should be.
Lost River Cave is one of the jewels of Bowling Green and it is only fitting that this land be added to one of our most popular attractions.
The cave and valley are full of history. American Indians used it as shelter for thousands of years. It was rumored that Jesse James and his gang hid out there after a bank robbery in Russellville. Confederate and Union troops used it as an encampment during the Civil War.
And from the 1930s to 1960s, it was the scene of social gatherings and dances. Now it is a major tourist attraction that offers boat rides into the cave, a gift shop and scenic walking and biking trails.
It was also interesting to know that the partners, who have turned over nearly 105 acres to the cave system since 1985, had been approached for years about selling the land for development
“We’ve always felt that the property should be preserved,” Cravens said.
Lawson and Cravens are to be commended not only for reducing their original asking price by more than $400,000 to increase the size of the cave and valley tract, but also for turning over the original tract in 1985 so it could be preserved.
Fromthe Bowling Green Daily News December 13, 2003
Preservation is key to Lost River Cave
It is rare to see nature as the pioneers and past generations saw it, but we still have that satisfaction in Lost River Cave and Valley.
On Thursday, it was announced that Raymond Cravens and Owen Lawson sold 41.6 acres of land to the Friends of Lost River Cave for $1.5 million.
This sale means that nearly all the land in the valley will be undeveloped, which is the way it should be.
Lost River Cave is one of the jewels of Bowling Green and it is only fitting that this land be added to one of our most popular attractions.
The cave and valley are full of history. American Indians used it as shelter for thousands of years. It was rumored that Jesse James and his gang hid out there after a bank robbery in Russellville. Confederate and Union troops used it as an encampment during the Civil War.
And from the 1930s to 1960s, it was the scene of social gatherings and dances. Now it is a major tourist attraction that offers boat rides into the cave, a gift shop and scenic walking and biking trails.
It was also interesting to know that the partners, who have turned over nearly 105 acres to the cave system since 1985, had been approached for years about selling the land for development
“We’ve always felt that the property should be preserved,” Cravens said.
Lawson and Cravens are to be commended not only for reducing their original asking price by more than $400,000 to increase the size of the cave and valley tract, but also for turning over the original tract in 1985 so it could be preserved.