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Mercer Caverns (Visit this link)

Mercer Caverns, world famous for the rare Aragonite flos ferri, celebrated its one hundredth year of discovery and operation on September 1, 1985. It is the longest continually operating commercial caverns in the state of California. The owners have guest books signed by paying customers - dating back to September of 1885 to present - indicating that visitors were welcome at Mercer Caverns every year since its discovery.

Thousands and thousands (the first of whom descended on ropes) have enjoyed and marveled at this three million year old cave - including royalty and a president. Mercer Caverns has up-dated the stairs, walkways and lighting though always cognizant of its responsibility to present this living limestone cave in its original beauty. The management has carefully protected and preserved these ancient formations and presented this gift of nature in such a historical manner that the significance of its value makes a lasting impression upon all who visit.

The cave was originally used by a prehistoric Indian Tribe called the Yokuts as a mortuary cave. They would bring bodies to the opening and let them roll down inside. Because such a site was sacred, no one was allowed to enter. The Yokuts were hunters and when the game was gone they moved camp. Slowly over the years, the entrance filled with dirt, leaves and rocks and was completely lost until the year of 1885.

It was rediscovered by a gold prospector named Walter J. Mercer. On a hot summer day, Mr. Mercer was returning home from prospecting. Hot, tired and thirsty, he noticed some bay trees near a limestone rock. Thinking he might find water there, he walked over to take a look. Not finding anything, he sat down to rest in the shade. While resting, his attention was drawn to the movement of dry grass around a small hole about the size of his fist. Placing his hand to the opening, he felt a strong draft of cool air, which made him curious. He picked up a small rock and dropped it into the hole, and listening, he could hear it falling for quite a long way. He went to a mining camp and brought back enough tools to enlarge the opening, a rope and some candles to light his way.

He enlarged the hole big enough to crawl through, tied a rope to a tree, the other end around his waist, lit a candle and slid down a mud bank on the north side of a room now called the Gothic Chamber until he was half way (about 20ft) down. At this vantage point, he saw masses of tree roots that hung in clusters from ceiling to floor. In the dim light of his candle, he thought they looked like the decaying timbers of a lost mine. Exploring further, to the base of the fault wall approximately 40 feet below the entrance, he found himself among some human bones. Just as he found the bones, he also heard the sound of falling dirt and rock at the entrance. This warned him of the danger of reclosure; he picked up one bone--a thigh bone of a man--and left very quickly.

To secure the ownership of the land, Mr. Mercer filed a mining claim on September 2, a copy of which is on file in the Calaveras County Archives Book 1, page 250-251. Also on file in the archives is a Deed of Sale dated December 20, 1886 showing the purchase of an additional forty acres from a Mr. Daniel Thompson. The selling price was one five dollar gold piece.

The actual total human remains that were found in the caverns numbered six: four adults, one child, and one infant. These skeletons were not emphasized in the furor and excitement concerning the cave itself. In fact, at a meeting of the Paleontological Society at the State University at Berkeley which was reported in April 20, 1910, Calaveras Weekly explains that at the time of discovery "the scientific value or the remains did not so much impress us as did the beauty and magnificence of the excavation, and the desire to know its extent." The cave, named the New Calaveras Cave (Calaveras is a Spanish word meaning skull) was an immediate hit with the public in spite of the difficult two hour excursion on the quarter mile trip. After Mr. Mercer built a house (part of which is still being used as the current office) near the entrance, he decided to put in stairs to make it easier to view his new discovery.

The following excerpt from the California Illustrated Magazine, June 1893, shows it was no simple venture to even come to the New Calaveras Cave:

"The journey to the New Calaveras Cave may be accomplished by taking the Stockton and Copperopolis Railroad to Milton, thence by stage through Angels Camp, and Vallecito, reaching Murphys in the early evening. After traversing a winding, picturesque road of gradual ascent for a distance of one and a quarter miles from the town of Murphys, we reach a small amphitheater surrounded by low brush and situated at the summit of the hill."

Also: "Hints to the visitor: The journey over rock floors, if floor it may be called, is perilous; sure-footedness is a saving grace. Visitors should wear clothes which they never expect to wear to a wedding afterward. A candle is to be carried in one hand and it is prudent to have a supply or matches in one's pocket. The guide carries a supply of candles, a wise precaution, which one appreciates when his "glim" which he has been obliged to hold in every possible position while climbing about - upside down and down side up - accidentally drops from his grasp and is seen no more." Tours are copied, as much as possible, from the tours given by Mr. Mercer and his guides. 'the names of the formations are the names given by Mr. Mercer and Mr. E. E. Floyd, who, at the time of the discovery, was the teacher at the historic one-room school in Murphys. These two worked together on a booklet; The New Calaveras Cave, written in 1885-1886 and published in 1887 by Bacon Company.

All the original stairs (ladders with railings) were put in by Mr. Mercer and his workmen. While working on the exit in 1888, he fell thirty feet when his rope broke. He fell on his neck and shoulders and injured his spine. He developed tuberculosis of the spine, and died twelve years later, on November 1, 1900 at the age of 46. Margarita Castruccia Mercer (Walter's wife) then became owner of the cave.

In 1901 an electric light system was placed throughout the cave, some of which can still be seen in Dante's Inferno. In 1910, a somewhat improved stairway replaced the original ladders, though it was still necessary to climb over some of the rocks through narrow passageways. Eva Mercer Stephens (Walter's daughter) and her husband Milton helped run the cave, and the cave did not change hands until 1946 upon the death of Mr. Stephens. Mrs. Mercer died at the age of ninety-five in 1961. Eva Mercer Stephens died in Murphys in 1973.

Mr. and Mrs. Sterling Carter purchased the caverns from the Mercers in 1946 changing the name to Mercer Caverns. Mrs. Carter (Vivian) was responsible for all the landscaping that so enhanced the area. She had retired from Pacific Bell (Bell Telephone) as an Operator Supervisor. Sterling Carter had retired from Bechtel Company. They relocated to Murphys because of his mining interest and as a sideline to the caverns manufactured Placer Shaker Tables for gold prospectors.

Their original plans for improvements included new metal and concrete stairs and platforms, motel, dance pavilion, swimming pool; but the only actual improvement was a new lighting system. With the aid of PG&E illumination specialists, Carter had installed an up-to-the minute lighting system that enhanced the loveliness of the caverns. There were now 48 floodlights, 150 and 300 watts, equipped with color filters.

Due to advancing age and Mr. Carter's wish to concentrate on mining equipment, the cave was put up for sale in 1965. Two business men (Burke Malcom and Bruce Prather) purchased the caverns under the corporate name of Mal-Pra on April 18 1965. They decided immediately to close the caverns temporarily to replace the 1910 stairway in two-thirds of the cave. The exit Where Mr. Mercer fell so many years earlier was not to reopen until 1982 as the exit had filled in with dirt, rocks and crumbling walls.

In 1972, Mal-Pra Corporation replaced the lighting installed by Mr. Carter and with the additional lights for the exit, there is a total of 88 lights today. Colored floodlights are used throughout to prevent the growth of moss which grows under white lights (they make "artificial sunlight"). It is necessary, however, to have some white lights on the extremely steep stairs in order that the public can be sure of their footing.

The cave reopened to a depth of 161 feet on June 5, 1965 with a combination of concrete and wooden stairs plus walkways and platforms. This eliminated any climbing over the rocky floors. These structures were designed to safe-guard the public, using modern materials and methods surpassing the guidelines of the building codes. All wooden stairs are checked on a regular basis to detect and correct any problems from heavy usage and dampness. In 1981 all support beams and timbers in the caverns were replaced as a matter of course.

1981 was also the year the removal of the dirt and rock from the exit began in order to reopen the rooms closed to the public. All the old lumber from the 1910 ladders was removed, and while handling this old lumber, handfuls of square nails and some old tools were found. Some of the square nails and old tools are on display at the exit room. One hundred seventy-two stairs were constructed utilizing the abilities of carpenters and a geologist in order to present and preserve in the best manner possible, while maintaining the safest of conditions.

Mercer Caverns has been recognized for its beauty and historic significance numerous times. The most recent awards include; Certificate of Recognition from the 5th Senate District of the California Legislature; California Historical Society and State Fair One Hundred Year Club, Calaveras County Board of Supervisors Resolution honoring one hundred years of Operation, and State of California Point of Historical Interest (Cal 004) awarded August 2, 1985

This concludes our history up until today. The beautiful Mercer Caverns have been around for much longer than we have, and we are doing our best to keep it the exact way we humans found it. Please stop by if you're in the neighborhood! It's a visit into a timeless piece of Mother Earth that you won't readily forget!

http://www.mercercaverns.com