Crystal Cave, discovered by accident near Kutztown on November 12, 1871, became Pennsylvania’s first show cave and one of the nation’s oldest continuously operating cave attractions. After souvenir hunting threatened its formations, Samuel D. F. Kohler bought the cave and surrounding land in 1872, protected it, and opened it formally to visitors, then expanded it with admission, transportation, a guidebook, and a hotel. Extending about 500 feet underground, the cave contains notable stalactites, stalagmites, pillars, dripstone formations, and very old calcite features. Its long operation and early development as a destination made it an important example of nineteenth-century cave tourism in Pennsylvania.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain