From left, THE CAVE ELECTRICIAN’S WIDOW: The Tragedy at Howe Caverns & Dramatic Courtroom Fight for Justice — The remarkable untold story of two men’s deaths in the cave on April 24, 1930. “A compelling narrative that keeps readers on edge until the court verdict is revealed.” — USNN World News. Part David vs. Goliath, part mystery, part courtroom drama, part travelogue through the fascinating underground realm of the caverns, and much more. Jacket copy Reviews
UNDERGROUND EMPIRES: Two Centuries of Exploration, Adventure & Enterprise in NY’s Cave Country. “An intriguing, surprising, sometimes humorous, and very human look back at nearly 200 years of adventure in New York’s most famous caves and the explorers and entrepreneurs whose courage and vision made the caves a part of the lives of millions of visitors from around the world. Filled with colorful characters, high adventure, a little romance even, and some tantalizing mysteries.” Includes updated editions of two previous books by the author, 1990’s popular The Remarkable Howe Caverns Story and Unearthing Howes Cave: a Quarry and a Community from 1842 on (Self-published, 2005). Jacket copy Reviews
FARMING WITH DYNAMITE: The Forgotten Stone Boom in Schoharie County — The Cave Country’s limestone bedrock conducive to the formation of underground wonders is also a highly prized source of building stone and cement. From about 1890-1905 as many as 30 local quarries supplied millions of tons of cut and finished stone to engineering marvels like the Brooklyn Bridge, the NYC Subway, the expanding NYS Barge Canal System, and hundreds of homes and prominent buildings meant to last for centuries. A fascinating, well-documented read. Self-published, Oct. 2023. Jacket copy.
This is the untold story of that tragedy: the rescue attempts, the investigation and coroner’s report, and finally, the legal recourse sought by the widows of the two men. Much of the story is told in vivid, first-hand accounts taken from court records of one of the cases. The testimony—by rescuers, cave experts, quarrymen, explosives engineers, doctors, and chemists under the dueling questioning of the widow’s attorney and his adversary —unravels the mystery of who was responsible and illuminates unfamiliar avenues of the dark, remarkable cave. YOU’LL BE KEPT GUESSING UNTIL THE VERDICT IS READ.
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THE ‘HUNGRY HOLLOW’ SHALE QUARRY
Editor’s Note: We received the following in a February 2025 eamail from our young friend, Ben Fritch, of Warnerville. He writes:
Are you aware of the shale quarry in Hungry Hollow (Warnerville), near the railroad overpass at Podpadic Road?
According to “Delaware and Hudson Bridge Line Freight 1960-1983, Vol. 2 – The South End,” by Dominic Bourgeois, this quarry’s sole purpose was to provide stone/fill for the rail line’s paths and such at the Howes Cave quarry. This is presumably because [limestone from] that quarry was too valuable at the time.
I quote, “an eight-car siding was built at the Podpadic Road underpass in Hungry Hollow in the 1950s to haul the rock from a short-lived [shale] quarry and wood crib dock to the Howes Cave cement plant. The siding was pulled out in 1966, well after it had outlived its usefulness.”
Have Something to Share?
Thanks, Ben, and no, I was not familiar with the Hungry Hollow quarry, so thanks for sharing this bit of history. Other readers with stories or intel on the caves and quarries of Schoharie County’s Cave Country are encouraged to send them here: cavewriter@howecavernstales.com
