ROGERS, Ark. — A carving was uncovered in War Eagle Cavern that could prove a connection between the historic cavern and War Eagle Mill, dating back 150 years.
On Friday, Feb. 24, War Eagle Cavern announced that while working on an expansion project, employees noticed a carving that spelled out the name "Blackburn."
According to the announcement, the name references Sylvanus Walker Blackburn, a well-known Northwest Arkansas figure who built the first grist mill in Benton County. The location where the original mill was built is open today as a tourist attraction and historical reproduction called War Eagle Mill.
Guy Schiavone, the general manager of the War Eagle Cavern, told 5NEWS on Tuesday that the initials, Z.J., are those of Zimri Jackson Blackburn. Zimri was the son of Sylvanus, who had 11 children. Schiavone said they might have been one of the first white settlers that explored the cavern, other than Native Americans.
Although the two places aren't directly related, the Mill and the Cavern have worked together for years to show visitors the historic beauty of the area.
"A lot of people assume that because we have the same name... And we always used to say 'yeah, we're not actually,' but now there's proof that was put there probably 150 years ago that says, 'yeah, actually we are.' That family over there that started this, they ended up exploring down here too," said Schiavone.
“We are very excited by this discovery. Over the years we have explored those areas in the cavern many times and discovered hundreds of signatures, but we have never noticed the Blackburn signature because of how high up it is. The construction of this new walkway will allow future visitors to view this previously unseen carving," Schiavone added in the announcement.
The War Eagle Cavern offers a Lost in the Woods Maze, Gemstone Panning, the Traditional Cavern Tour, and a Wild Cavern Tour.
Schiavone explained that the section of the cavern the carving is located in has been traveled many times through their Wild Cavern Tour, saying, "we take our visitors into a section of the car into the sections of the cavern where there are no lights and no walkways. It's totally undeveloped, unconditioned."
That tour, Schiavone says, is for those seeking the most adventure.
"We work our way through total darkness— we wear headlamps and gloves and kneepads and we go climbing over obstacles, we go crawling trudging through the stream, there are tight spaces back there."
Yet with the carving being higher into the cave, they had never seen the name until installing a walkway and lights. The attraction's owners had decided to expand its traditional tour further into the cavern, which meant adding walkways and lights. That's when they made the discovery of the carving.
Tom Rasmussen, a historian, and guide at the War Eagle Mill, initially thought that the carving may not have been done by Blackburn himself. His gut feeling that it was made by one of his eleven children turned out to be correct.
War Eagle Cavern will reopen on March 4, 2023. The expansion will also open, which was previously inaccessible to the public—along with the Blackburn carving.
You can buy tickets and learn more about the War Eagle Cavern on their website.
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