Old Man’s Cave was named for Richard Rowe, the “old man,” a recluse who made the recess cave his home in the 1800’s, and it is part of the scenic Hocking Hills State Park. Hocking comes from the Wyandot Indian word “hockhocking,” referring to the Hocking River’s bottle-shaped gorge near Lancaster. Streams and percolating groundwater carved the hollows and caves in this area from layers of sandstone bedrock that vary in hardness. The hollow’s moist, cool climate preserves more typically northern tree species such as eastern hemlock trees and Canada yew, which have persisted since the glaciers retreated 15,000 years ago.