
Before De Soto arrived, Native Americans used the caverns as burial grounds. They believed that the largest cavern room, called the “Healing All Cathedral,” had healing and calming properties, and they called it “Kymulga,” meaning “Healing All.” It was even the first recorded cave in the United States, with presidential agent, Benjamin Hawkins, describing the beauty of the caves to George Washington in a letter in 1796. During the Civil War, the caverns served as a mine for saltpeter to make gunpowder, and during the early twentieth century, in the prohibition era, the caverns became a speakeasy.
Check out the Majestic Caverns website to find out more information about this wonderful Alabama attraction.
- https://majesticcaverns.com/caverns
- http://genealogytrails.com/ala/history_desoto.html
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=114373
- https://www.thisisalabama.org/2021/09/27/desotocaverns/
- https://hooversun.com/news/desoto-caverns-now-majestic-caverns
John Morgan Underwood is from Springville, Alabama, and is a student at the University of Alabama majoring in English and minoring in News and Media. His family moved around a lot during his childhood before residing in Alabama.