OLLI at UA presents “Manitou Cave of Alabama: A living Natural Museum and a Walk Through Time.”
An Expert on Manitou Cave will present the story of Manitou Cave, a 320-million-year-old Alabama treasure with a long and varied geological, biological, archaeological, cultural and historical significance. The cave was an underground ceremonial location for the Cherokee in the early 1800s before their forced removal on the Trail of Tears, a salt peter mine during the 1860s, one of the first tourist attractions in Alabama in the 1880s, a Cold War fall-out shelter and more. After interstate I-59 opened, travelers bypassed Fort Payne, where the cave is located, and Manitou Cave tourism declined. Manitou Cave closed in 1979 and remained abandoned for the next forty years. In 2016, Manitou Cave of Alabama, a not-for-profit organization was formed and has restored and revitalized the vandalized cave, the overgrown property and the derelict historic midcentury
modern visitor center. The cave received international recognition because of recent research and discoveries, and in 2021, MCAL was designated as a certified NPS Trail of Tears National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.
This free OLLI Bonus Program will be held at Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest, 1221 Montgomery Highway. See olli.ua.edu or call 205-348-6482 for more information.
AGE GROUP: | Adults (Ages 21+) | Adults (Ages 18+) |
EVENT TYPE: | Regular Series | Lecture Series | Adult Events |
TAGS: | regular series | lecture | free | community | adult events | adult |