English Cave...once again

[Pilot]

So why exactly is everyone so hush-hush about this cave? Shouldn't people be trying to get the word out to publicize it?

If everyone knows where it is at in 2015, wouldn't the city or other enthusiasts be more inclined to try and get it opened to the public?


It took me right at 5hours total to find where it's located just using online resources...not sure why RFT or others haven't publicized it?

The other Benton Park caves are publicly known - does that cause some type of negative impact to them?

[SubLunar]

First of all, no. Publicizing caves is not good for business. Unless you want random fuckheads destroying them.

Second, the city obviously has no interest in opening it. They didn't when they had the chance to use it as a tourist attraction and they certainly don't now that it's been sealed for over 100 years.

No offense.. but you didn't find it. What you found was some clues to an estimated former entrance last used over 100 years ago. Finding it = entering it. Everyone knows approximately where it's at. Not only have you not been inside of it, but I'd wager you have not been on the same elevation as it to even say you were close to it.

Not sure WTF you're talking about in regards to other Benton park caves being publicly known.

If research is what you're after, then welcome to the forum. You'll find a few of us are very dedicated to this quest. Also, my condolences for joining in such an unrewarding, difficult and dangerous hobby.

[Pilot]

Guess i came off as an asshole? Sorry

The other Benton Park caves aka Cherokee, Lemp, ect. They're publicly known, but fuckheads don't go ruining those. (right?)


I live in Benton Park, and yeah by that definition i didn't find it.


Just walked down there a few min ago... guessing you guys have all been in the church cellar?

http://imgur.com/a/UvHpF

[SubLunar]

Yes, actually, fuckheads were constantly trying to ruin Lemp/Cherokee for the rest of us, for example. Morons would party in there, leaving beer bottles and assorted trash behind, shooting fire extinguishers off, taking shits in there, etc. All of this in a place where the owners/maintenance guys would regularly walk through so it was obvious any time that happened. So every time that happened, the owners would get more pissed and spend more energy sealing it up. We were constantly battling morons who apparently wanted it to be known they were there and owners who were trying to keep people out. I always preferred to have 3 separate entrances there because at least one would be discovered and sealed up by the time we went back.

But then, in mid-2010, the haunted house moved in. With the haunted house came new doors, new locks, new alarms and night vision cameras all over the fucking place. Since then, Lemp/Cherokee has been sealed off from uninvited guests. The owners are done fucking around, too. Last time I was there, on what was supposed to be a legit tour with some local grottos involved, the owners found out and ambushed us. As it turned out, the maintenance guy was just trying to earn some money ($10/ea) on the side. So we all go down and the next thing I know I've got a fucking Beretta M9 and a flashlight in my face and someone's yelling at me to get against the wall. The cops didn't bother to identify themselves, I thought we were being robbed at first and fight or flight instinct was kicking in hard. Finally, I saw a badge reflect off someone's flashlight and I learned it was the cops. Eventually the owners came out of hiding in the back of the cellar and we all went upstairs and got a stern talking to.

So even if the haunted house hadn't moved in, by now Lemp/Cherokee would very likely be sealed up anyway because of all the people who were being dumb in there, combined with the fact that the place is mostly inhabited now. Previous entry points are no good anymore just because people moved in to those buildings.

[Pilot]

Interesting! I have read the cop ambush story on here before, but not from your perspective I don't believe.


And honestly the entrances should be locked up or regulated to keep off the assholes, but don't permanently seal them off.


On the church though...i'm guessing multiple people have tried to talk their way through to the cellar? How did that work out with the owners? Should i go to church this Sunday? LOL

[SubLunar]

haha i was just looking at their hours and thinking the same thing just to see it for myself.

[crazydrummerdude]

Guess i came off as an asshole? Sorry

Nah, SubLunar's the asshole here. You're just a new guy and a little too confident.

The other Benton Park caves aka Cherokee, Lemp, ect. They're publicly known, but fuckheads don't go ruining those. (right?)

Wrong. That's why, as much as I hate to be an elitist snob, it needs to be more hush-hush. You'd love to think everyone was just an wide-eyed lover of lost history, like me and yourself, but there are genuinely assholes who want to mess it up for the rest of us. I wouldn't be surprised if they get a lot of their locations/entrances from here, UER, etc.

It takes a ton of work to find viable, discrete entrances. Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures. Why give it up publicly? Especially since it can be compromised 100X faster than it can be discovered.

[tacoto]

there are no caves near st Louis......theres one near Sullivan however.

[Slim Jim]

I always hated English class.

[BagHead727]

there are no caves near st Louis......theres one near Sullivan however.

Exactly. Caves only exist in the southern 1/3rd of Missouri. English Cave, like so many others, is a myth.

Sorry to disappoint.

[RedRook]

there are no caves near st Louis......theres one near Sullivan however.

Exactly. Caves only exist in the southern 1/3rd of Missouri. English Cave, like so many others, is a myth.

Sorry to disappoint.

DNR says there are 20 caves in the two quadrangles around the arch. It does look like the southern half of St. Louis has far more caves. Around Arnold DNR counts 96 cves. Around St. Charles they only count 1. Unfortunately, DNR doesn't publish the locations, just the counts of caves registered.

[BagHead727]

No locations huh? How convenient... I bet you actually believe DNR's lies.

[RedRook]

http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journa ... 86966.html

Aren't there wine catacombs out there too? I don't know anything for sure in St. Louis. I tend to drive through it.

[BagHead727]

I've never heard the term wine catacomb. It's probably make-believe too. I've really been wanting to explore Cliff Cave in South County. It's gated but I discovered a way in last time I was there. I think they have cameras set up in the cave as well. Most likely as a deterrent so people don't discover that the cave is actually fake.

[RedRook]

Yeah, I don't know what to call it. I've heard second hand story descriptions of a wine cellar that stretched out into a catacomb on a street in Highland, IL. They claimed they used to have openings to where you could go under other people's houses, and it was a common thing out there. I have zero evidence anything like that is real. Is Highland even close enough to be a St. Louis suburb. I'm in the wrong part of the forum.