Black-Coffey Caverns welcomes visitors for monthly open house tours

from At Home Places, Autumn 2022

‘Art for Food’ Exhibit at Mansion House

Dara Black, owner of Black-Coffey Caverns, is silhouetted by flashlights while touring the cave system beneath her home near Greencastle. Black holds open houses for people to tour the cavern, which was first discovered in the 1800s. Lights illuminate rock formations reflected in a pool of water at Black-Coffey Caverns near Greencastle.

Black-Coffey Caverns

welcomes visitors for monthly open house tours

Written by JENNIFER A. FITCH Photos by COLLEEN MCGRATH

HERALD-MAIL

The two-story house with white siding resembles many others in the village of Williamson northwest of Greencastle, Pa. The house’s wrap-around porch, though, obscures the defining feature below.

The house sits atop a significant cave system known as Black-Coffey Caverns.

Closed to the public for seven decades, the property’s owner reopened the cave to visitors in a casual manner. Dara Black started by inviting friends and family to explore the wonders beneath her home, then expanded the invitations to open houses, at which she meets new people.

“It was always my mom’s dream to own the house and open it,” said Stephanie Creager, who helps Black, her mother, coordinate the tours.

The cavern on Warm Spring Road was discovered in the 1800s, as is evidenced by human activity recorded on its walls.

From left, Stephanie Creager, Donald Arrowood and Dara Black stand in what is known as the cathedral room at Black-Coffey Caverns near Greencastle. Stephanie Creager puts up the “gone caving” sign at the house belonging to her mother, Dara Black, owner of Black-Coffey Caverns near Greencastle, before leading a tour into the cavern.

Lights illuminate rock formations at Black-Coffey Caverns near Greencastle. Dara Black, owner of BlackCoffey Caverns, is illuminated by flashlights while touring the cave system beneath her home near Greencastle. Black holds open houses for people to tour the cavern, which was first discovered in the 1800s.

Dean Christman, of Marion, Pa., is a volunteer tour guide at the caverns.

“There are signatures on the walls from the late 1800s,” Creager said. “You find new ones all the time. The oldest we’ve found is 1842.”

Ownership of the property changed several times over the years after initial ownership by John Coffey. Two men leased it from J.E. Baker Quarry to provide tours (under the name Baker Caverns), but those ended in 1954. That closure to the public did not deter a curious Donald Arrowood, who lived in the nearby community of Cashtown (Hamilton Township, Pa.). He wanted to see inside the cave.

Arrowood is reluctant to admit he and a friend sweettalked their way into visiting the cave using a couple sixpacks of beer. Once in there, he was impressed.

“It’s something new; it’s exciting,” he said. “There’s a lot to explore.”

Arrowood still remembers that first visit for the mineral formations and dripping water. Today, he helps Black talk to visitors about local history, speleology and the roughly 200 caves recorded in Franklin County, Pa.

“I love it all. I’m excited there’s permission to go in now,” he said.

Creager said her mother provides snacks and water to visitors after tours, which can be tiring because of inclines and the five stairways on the route. Visitors enter the cave through a basement door.

‘A really cool place’

Black is related to the family who took ownership of the property in the 1980s. She bought the house in October 2020 through a private sale. Because of the family connection, though, Creager

got a sneak peek of what was under her feet.

“I’ve been down in the caves since I was 10 or 11 years old,” said Creager, now 40. “I just remember thinking it was a really cool place.”

Several local visitors remarked to the family that they have waited decades to return to the caves since they were last open to the public. The offerings now include yoga once a month, group tours for youths and designated days for families with children who have special needs.

A pair of volunteers describes the history and mineral deposits when groups descend into the cave, in which the average temperatures are in the 50s. Creager happily reported there are no bats in the passages.

Beyond filling in some holes in the muddy floor, the current owners have done little to make changes to the cave. The concrete dates to the 1930s. Visitors are advised to carry flashlights because there isn’t electricity in the caverns.

Creager thinks one formation, which is nicknamed “the alligator,” might have shifted downward in the years since she first descended into the cave. Otherwise, it is much like what she remembers from childhood. Her extensive time below ground means she doesn’t get jittery when down there alone, although the occasional noise has startled her when she sets up battery-operated lights for yoga.

Creager hopes visitors come away from the experience appreciating her mother’s generosity and the opportunity to touch cave walls. Children are invited to explore offshoot tunnels.

“We sometimes don’t know what’s underneath us, and we should take care of where we live,” Creager said.

To sign up for the free open houses at Black-Coffey Caverns, go to www. facebook.com/blackcoffeycaverns and follow the link to a website. Open houses are held once a month and can accommodate 10 to 20 people each hour.

Visitors are asked not to stop by without an appointment.

Yoga class registration is also available on the cavern Facebook page. The cost is $20, payable to the instructor.