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Old Man's Cave From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Old Man’s Cave is one of the six major hiking areas in Hocking Hills State Park in Southeast Ohio. The sandstone cave’s popularity is fueled by its waterfalls, sheer cliffs, and glacial history. Contents [hide] •	1History •	2Geography •	3Miscellaneous •	4External Links History[edit source] Archaeologists found evidence of indigenous American Indian presence in the area as long as 7,000 years ago. Members of Shawnee, Wyandot, and Lenape (Delaware) Native American tribes occupied the cave and its surroundings during the 17th and 18th centuries. [] Old Man’s Cave became known for one of the first white settlers in the area, Revolutionary War soldier Richard Rowe. Brothers Nathaniel and Pat Rayon are said to be the area’s first white visitors, in 1795, but Rowe’s presence has been better remembered. He had moved into the cave and later died when he accidentally shot himself. [] [] Native American residents buried Rowe’s body inside the cave, and eventually the structure was named in recognition of the skeleton that remained there in the cave. [] [ American Indians visited the Hocking region. Shawnee, Wyandot, and Lenape (Delaware) tribes all occupied the area at different times throughout the 1600s and 1700s. Nathaniel and Pat Rayon are brothers that were reportedly the first white men to visit the cave in 1795, before Rowe. It is rumored that they built a cabin near Old Man's Cave and are buried either nearby it or inside it. [2] The Old Man’s Cave hiking trail is challenging. Its best-known rock formations help to make the area popular with hikers -- the Devil’s Bathtub, Sphinx Head, Eagle Rock, and Whale in the Wall. [] Occasionally, accidents have caused deaths around the cave, mostly due to falls from cliffs. []

Geography[edit source]

Soft sandstone gave way to erosion from glaciers over millennia. Salt Creek, flowing through the deep gorge where the mile-long cave sits, contributed to its formation. [] Rare and non-native plants such as Eastern hemlock, black birch, and Canadian yew are among the plants that surround the cave and line its trails. [] Area: 2,356 acres (9.53 km2); Water: 17 acres (6.9 ha) Established: 1924 Number of visitors per day: 2,000 [4] •	Trail map