Jewel Cave National Monument (Images of America: South Dakota) [Paperback]

Judy L. Love (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2008

Buried under layers of limestone and sandstone hundreds of feet thick, Jewel Cave is more ancient than South Dakota's Black Hills, which adorn the landscape above. The cave lay undiscovered until 1900, when two brothers, miners and part-time cowboys, felt a strong wind coming from a small hole in the ground at the base of a cliff. When they enlarged the opening, they found passages filled with the glittering calcite crystals that give the cave its name. Although its discoverers marveled at the cave's natural beauty, few believed the find to be significant. Even after Pres. Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Jewel Cave a national monument in 1908, the government was unwilling to fund development. Americans then took up motoring, roads improved, and tourists flocked to the once remote Black Hills. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps created facilities to accommodate the influx. Yet it was not until an adventurous couple from the East received permission to explore and map the cave that its true importance was realized. They and fellow cavers who accompanied them or followed in their footsteps discovered a massive multilayered labyrinth. Jewel Cave now is the second-longest cave in the world, and the exploration continues.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Title: Local author pens book about Jewel Cave Author: Staff Writer Publisher: Custer County Chronicle Date: 12/11/2008 A new book by a local author follows the history of Jewel Cave from its discovery to its 100th anniversary as a national monument in 2008. Jewel Cave National Monument, written by Judy Love of Custer, has more than 200 photographs and focuses more on the adventure and experience of caving than on scientific facts and theories. The book reveals its history starting in 1900, when two brothers, miners and part-time cowboys, felt a strong wind coming from a small hole in the ground at the base of a cliff. When they enlarged the opening, they found passages filled with the glittering calcite crystals that give the cave its name. Rather than writing another volume on the natural history of the cave, I focused on the personal experiences of the people who discovered, explored or worked in the cave,  Love said.  I wanted to know what it had been like to crawl through a dark passage and come out in a place where no one had been. The book contains an up-to-date account of the most recent findings, and more than half the photos are of the cave interior, including many taken by the most recent explorers. Love said she got the idea to do a book on Jewel Cave from someone who had seen her stories on people with a passion in Black Hills Faces magazine and the Rapid City Journal. Being a sun and surface lover, I knew little about the cave,  she said. I had been inside on the walking tours, and I found it incredibly beautiful and a little scary. I looked forward to learning more about it. To research the book, Love interviewed Herb and Jan Conn, who are well known for their explorations in the cave, and other recent cavers who have explored, mapped and more than doubled the size of the known cave. She also gathered stories from some of the descendants of the prospectors who discovered the cave and early Black Hills residents. I spent many hours in the National Park Service archives and the local museum gathering photographs and information on how Jewel Cave grew from a hole in the ground to the world's second longest cave. I would like to think that readers will be left with an appreciation of the beauty and wonder of one of your country's natural treasures, and for the grueling and often dangerous work so many people undertook to reveal this hidden world to us. --Custer County Chronicle

About the Author

Judy L. Love is a freelance writer who contributes regularly to local newspapers and magazines. She lives with her husband, David, in Custer. Jewel Cave National Monument is her first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (December 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738561983
• ISBN-13: 978-0738561981
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,653,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Complement to the Conn Book, August 4, 2009

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Lynne in CO (Longmont, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jewel Cave National Monument (Images of America: South Dakota) (Paperback)

Just purchased this book at the Jewel Cave Visitor's Center and found it to be an excellent companion to Herbert and Jann Conn's book describing their adventures exploring and mapping Jewel Cave. There's a short introduction to the history of Jewel Cave followed by numerous photos starting from the turn of the century (1900) through 2008. Photos are of both cave features and the people / activities involved in the exploration and development of the cave as a tourist destination. All are in black and white.