In 1934, Black cave guide sold Mammoth Cave hotel for just $3,000

Matt Bransford and a glimpse of Mammoth Cave National Park Deep below the forests of Kentucky is a world of water, stone and centuries-old human history. Mammoth Cave National Park has the world’s longest known cave system, but its story is about far more than underground passages. It’s also a story about indigenous exploration, enslaved guides, ambitious entrepreneurs, tourism, conservation, and families changed by the landscape’s transformation into a national park. One such story is that of Matt Bransford, a Black cave guide with family deep roots in Mammoth Cave and its tourism industry. Scroll down to read the story and what makes it so uniqueA cave with a history of thousands of yearsMammoth Cave is an incredible natural system, with more than 412 miles of mapped passages. Its limestone chambers and tunnels hold evidence of human activity for thousands of years. Before modern tourism was a thing, native Americans explored and mined the upper levels of the cave. Archeological finds include torches, pottery, woven objects, shells and other relics of early cave dwellers. Some groups entered the cave in search of minerals such as gypsum, selenite and other mineral deposits Later ...