Dunbar Cave, a blowing cave with a constant internal temperature of 56 degrees, offered refuge from hot and humid Tennessee summers before air conditioning. The first recorded dance at the cave took place on July 7th, 1844, as a "bran dance" with wheat bran or sawdust spread and packed on the dirt floor. Over the following decades, dances and other social events were held at the cave, and on August 18, 1863, the occupying Union army held a grand picnic there. The cave became a resort in 1879, and its popularity increased. A wooden dancing platform was added in 1891 and replaced with concrete in 1916. The present configuration dates to the Big Band Era of the 1930's. As air conditioning became widely available by mid-century, the cave became obsolete as a music venue, and after the resort closed in 1971, dancing at the cave ended.