Saltpeter Cave | |
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Nearest city | Olive Hill, Kentucky |
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Coordinates | 38°22′35″N83°07′26″W / 38.37639°N 83.12389°W Coordinates: 38°22′35″N83°07′26″W / 38.37639°N 83.12389°W |
Area | 2.4 acres (0.97 ha) |
NRHP reference No. | 01000743 [1] |
Added to NRHP | July 24, 2001 |
Saltpeter Cave, in Carter Caves State Resort Park near Olive Hill, Kentucky. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. [1]
It has also been known as Swingle's Cave and as Swindell's Cave. It is a limestone cave with 3.05 kilometres (1.90 mi) of measured length.
It has served as a saltpeter, or niter, mine, by the early 1800s. It has been believed, by local tradition, that niter mined from the cave was used to make gunpowder for the War of 1812, including supplying for the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. [2]
The cave entrance is gated by a "limestone block and iron bar structure, resembling a jail cell", which was built in the mid-1900s. [2]
The cave was developed for use by bats. [2]
The cave is unique in that it is a hibernaculum for the endangered Indiana Bat in the winter months. [3]
It is open for cave tours during the summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 220,069. The county seat is Clarksville. The county was created in 1796. Montgomery County is included in the Clarksville, TN–KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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Niter or nitre is the mineral form of potassium nitrate, KNO3. It is a soft, white, highly soluble mineral found primarily in arid climates or cave deposits.
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The Confederate Nitre and Mining Bureau was a civilian government bureau to provide the Confederate States of America with needed materials such as copper, iron, lead, saltpeter, sulfur, zinc, and other metals. The Bureau oversaw civilian contracts and offered advice, instruction and guidance in the production of these materials. The Nitre and Mining Bureau was also known as the "CSNMB", the "Bureau of Nitre" or the "Nitre Bureau". The Niter and Mining Corps was the military division of the Bureau. The Nitre and Mining Bureau was part of the Confederate Ordnance Department, under the supervision of General Josiah Gorgas. The Nitre and Mining Bureau was supervised by General Isaac M. St. John. The Central Ordinance Laboratory was headed by John Mallet.
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