English Cave...once again

[Whitepanther]

Hi Punkahontas and thanks for the English intrigue. The building you are referring to on Arsenal & Illinois is more affectionately known as the Schollmeyer Bldg. Most interestingly about this building is its former use as a beer garden in the 1890’s. Furthermore there is an 1838 map (not published until 1842) example here which ends at what would today be the Schollmeyer property.http://maps.slpl.org/img/mom00195.jpg

Personally I find the bricked up passages in basements to be amusing but they ALWAYS end up being old coal chutes. A member of our English Cave Steering Committee examined this one in particular and I’d say that’s exactly what it was. It was at the bottom of the stairwell leading to the basement btw. As for Schollmeyer there’s a strong likelihood that the property itself (outside the building) once had access to the cave and I believe it was covered by an outbuilding. The Schollmeyer property takes up two lots and at some point in the 1890’s when Henry Vortriede (Green Tree Brewery Vice-President) was selling off plots of land on Illinois it was likely determined the plot next to Schollmeyer was unfit to build on. At least that’s my guess. Thus it became a beer garden instead.

The map link shows the first known survey reference to what would later be known as English Cave. The wagon trail leading to it goes back to S Third Street where the St Louis Brewery (English & McHose) brewed their beer. Pretty cool eh? Thanks again for the info and welcome aboard.

[Whitepanther]

I always intended to share more at the right time. So keep an eye out for a new thread coming soon that will show the comprehensive results of our research. I’m still editing the full list of pics and text and when it’s finally up you’ll notice it’s a lot to digest in one sitting. In the meantime it’s best to read what’s known in Lost Caves or even from the start of this thread or whatever you have access to in order to refresh your memory or you’ll be lost.

As helpful as it would be right now for the result of my new thread to end in scores of sketchy characters poking around on private property in Benton Park, I promise all you would do is miss a chance to get involved directly by attending a meeting. We are getting far enough along now that I can finally say English will have an opening for the first time in 90 years before the end of 2020. If my suspicions are correct we will still need a lot of volunteers to help remediate the cave once phase two of the drilling is complete. By project completion there will be plenty of people congratulating each other and posing for photos ranging from the neighborhood residents to city hall and to various orgs that had little to do with this in the grand scheme of things simply because that’s the way things work above ground. Underground Ozarks in another way will eventually be recognized. The greater significance for me will always be the fact that English was the first project anywhere in the US that had organized caving and urban explorer participation and it couldn’t have gotten this far without both’s unique skills contacts and resources.

[the_p0ssum]

Exciting news, WhitePanther. Can't wait!!

[Whitepanther]

Exciting news, WhitePanther. Can't wait!!

I appreciate that, thanks. The rough draft was finished last night. I had to hire the secret weapon from the forum for editing advice since I tend to be hard to follow in text. It might take another week to finalize and I will owe him many beers for his services but you’ll get a much better finished product this way which is all that counts. Stay tuned.

[tacoto]

https://www.stlmag.com/history/english- ... kO1gb9z_gk

[Whitepanther]

Guess the secret is finally out!!!

[Eagle90]

Cool! Any video or other photos?

[JustLooking]

It has been a LONG time since I've checked in here but this is awesome news. CANNOT WAIT for updates and pictures!!!

[Chubz]

https://youtu.be/TYP504y65Ls

[Nicotti]

That pic at 5:34... I know some of those guys.

[Chubz]

Wonder what the ETA is for actually finding an entrance and gaining access. Would be incredible if access could be public or even semi-public at some point in the near future.

[SubLunar]

Damn I'm so proud and honored to be a tiny part of that project. feelsgoodman

[AltTab]

I've been lurking since 2007 on these forums, and I deeply regret that I've never been directly involved. I have troves of my own photos and explores that I've done, but I've been selfish when they were unique (not wanting others to trample them) and when they were places you'd already been I didn't feel like I was contributing here.

But you know what? This is the straw that broke the camel's back. I want to congratulate you on all the hard work that went into this. I may or may not have convinced a friend to let me go tap on his basement walls and floors with a hammer for this same purpose... but your work here has been so much more valuable on this topic.

Well done! You've restored a landmark to St. Louis every bit as important and amazing as the Arch. That's one hell of a feather in your cap!

In the work to come, if I can be of use to you as a volunteer I would be happy to lend some sweat to the project.

In the meantime, it's got to feel good to have open the new chapter on English Cave.

[Whitepanther]

This is the straw that broke the camel's back. I want to congratulate you on all the hard work that went into this.

Well done! You've restored a landmark to St. Louis every bit as important and amazing as the Arch. That's one hell of a feather in your cap!

That’s the best intro I’ve seen on here yet and that’s not an opinion formed just because I’m attached to it. Thanks for the kind words. Really appreciate the positive support from everyone.

Prior to Covid-19 hitting a full thread based on our archives was being procured and edited and we were interrupted just after breaching through into English Cave so that project went by the wayside before fully edited. I’d like to personally apologize for the delay on unkept promises to deliver that.

As for volunteers we will definitely need them but at this time all activities are halted until further notice due to Covid.

[Whitepanther]

UPDATE

I’ve posted the most updated draft of the promised post. Please feel free to check it out and I hope you all enjoy.