Jerry Summers
Submerged under the waters of Nickajack Lake on the Tennessee River below the site of the predecessor to Nickajack Dam, Hales Bar Dam, lies the historical and equally important archaeological lost treasure, Nickajack Cave. Nickajack Dam was designed to correct the engineering error of the original company, Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO). TEPCO had erected the Hales Bar Dam in 1913 built on a limestone base that continuously leaked and was unable to be corrected.
As a result the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) took over the property after lengthy legal litigation in the 1930s and the problem continued. Plans developed to remove the Hales Bar Dam and to erect a new dam further down river which unfortunately included the flooding of Nickajack Cave and the placing of a rich source of history under water. Although the cave area has had a history of human occupation since the 18th Century, the only tenants presently residing in the cave are approximately over 100,000 gray bats.
A tribe of Indians called the Chickamaugans under the leadership of Dragging Canoe settled into the mountainous area where the Tennessee River crosses to the Cumberland Plateau. A historical dispute exists as to whether the tribe was a part of the Cherokee nation. Nickajack was one of the principal towns of the Chickamaugans which was located between the cave and the river. Nickajack Cave was also located downstream from the navigational hazard sites called the “Suck” and the “Boiling Pot”, which impacted river traffic.
As early as 1850 an article in Harper’s Magazine described how people would ride boats from Chattanooga and, after passing through the swirling whirlpools, would go further downstream to explore Nickajack Cave. During the Civil War both armies used the cave as a saltpeter mine to dig for potassium nitrate, a mineral used to make gunpowder. In a 1974 article in The Journal of Spelean History it was claimed that Nickajack Cave was “visited by more than any other cave in the United States” during said conflict.
Twice in the early 20th Century two efforts were attempted to turn the cave into a tourist attraction. First there was Lawrence Ashley who got lost in the caverns in 1927 that received national recognition. The second developer was Leo Lambert who discovered Ruby Falls in Chattanooga and named it after his wife. Unfortunately, the Great Depression caused Lambert to lose his investment in both sites. Country singer Johnny Cash during one of his numerous drug-related episodes in his life is alleged to have walked into Nickajack Cave in 1967 to commit suicide but instead walked out “a changed man”. Cash would later maintain that “he was born again in Nickajack Cave.”
The first announcement by TVA that it would permanently flood Nickajack Cave came in the 1960s when Nickajack Dam would be completed. This led to the usual disputes between advocates for the new dam and archaeological preservationists with the historical benefits being outweighed by the development of an additional hydro electrical source. On December 15, 1967, TVA closed the gates of the new dam which led to the permanent flooding of Nickajack Cave and the land in front of it. There was some cursory talk about building a levee to protect the cave but nothing ever came of that idea. There was also some discussion about an extensive archaeological dig in front of the cave but it likewise was not initiated.
Other fascinating stories have developed about the history of the mammoth natural wonder, but much has been lost forever unless something unusual should occur. A failed suggestion by Chattanoogan Zella Armstrong in 1955 was that Nickajack Cave and the area around it should become a state historical park. Eventually TVA made the cave off limits to protect the multitude of gray bats that are its permanent residents.
Today, Nickajack Cave is a Wildlife Refuge, operated by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. To locate the cave travel west from Chattanooga on Interstate 24, take Exit 61 and turn left on Highway 56 on Shellmound Road. Go 4.8 miles passing Macedonia Road and a small lake where the cave is located. Turn left after passing the small lake and you will see a sign for the Nickajack Cave. The supervision of the cave is held jointly between TVA and TWRA. TWRA agent Chris Simpson advised that the cave is off limits to the public but there is a boardwalk pier at the site where the emergence of the gray bats each night to feed can be viewed. There are also buoys approximately 60 feet from the entrance where boats can watch the nightly activities of the bats as long as they do not go inside the markers.
Agent Simpson also advised that the month of June is the peak of the emergence of the gray bat pups who have now grown to the point where they can fly and exit the cave to dine on the mosquito population in the area.
Diving in the cave is limited to certified cave divers of which there are very few because of the dangers involved. In 2007 Author Larry E. Matthews wrote a book titled “Caves of Chattanooga”, which was published by the National Speleological Society and contains a full chapter on Nickajack Cave and its history.
A trip by land or boat at dusk will give a visitor an opportunity to view the over 100,000 non-human residents of the submerged Nickajack Cave.
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Jerry Summers
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