Old homes are known for their quirks. But for one home in Pennsylvania, it’s not the home itself that has the hidden secrets. It’s what is in behind the basement door. The outside of the white country home wouldn’t lead you to think anything suspicious was lurking there.
Its wraparound porch covers the house, helping to hide the ground below it. Its secret has been around for nearly 200 years, and for decades now, has been kept away from the public. But a new owner has changed all of that. And now, she gives tours to her basement. Why? Because it’s the entrance to a secret cave.
Nearly 200-year-old caves were recently open to tourists. The only catch is the opening is through the basement of a home. Photo by Black-Coffey Caverns
The house sits on top of a huge cave – Black-Coffey Caverns. New owner, Dara Black, had always wanted to let people see the massive cave. She started out by letting her friends and family visit first. Then she started inviting the public in. “It was always my mom’s dream to own the house and open it,” said her daughter Stephanie Creager. Creager helps her mom give tours of the caves. Carvings on the cave walls show that it was likely discovered in the 19th century.
There are signatures on the walls from the late 1800s,” Creager said. “You find new ones all the time. The oldest we’ve found is 1842.”
The property has been passed around throughout the years since its original owner, John Coffey. Tours of the caves ended in 1954, though, until Black reopened them. Nearby resident, Donald Arrowood remembers long ago, using a few packs of beers, to get the original owners to let him and a friend tour the caves.
Nearly 200-year-old caves were recently open to tourists. The only catch is the opening is through the basement of a home. Photo by Black-Coffey Caverns
“It’s something new; it’s exciting,” he said. “There’s a lot to explore.” Now, he doesn’t need beer to visit the caves. He works with Black and talks to visitors about the history of the cave and the area surrounding it. I love it all. I’m excited there’s permission to go in now,” he said. Visitors must go through 5 stairways to get through the caves, the first of which leads down from the basement door.
Creager and Black make sure to give water and snacks to guests after the tiring trek through the cave. A family member of Black’s had managed to purchase the property in the 80s. She bought the house from them in 2020. But because of it having been in her family, Creager and Black have had all the time needed to explore. “I’ve been down in the caves since I was 10 or 11 years old,” said Creager, now 40.
I just remember thinking it was a really cool place.”
Volunteers talk to visitors about the minerals in the cave. Creager said temperatures are typically in the 50s inside. She also said, laughing, the passages are free of bats. Much has remained the same in the cave for decades. The concrete goes back to the 1930s. There is no electricity, either, so guests use flashlights to find their way through. Creager said she hopes that people who visit the cave walk away with a new appreciation of what can lie beneath our feet. “We sometimes don’t know what’s underneath us, and we should take care of where we live,” she said.
Sources: UpWorthy | Herald Mail Media
