


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.
CAVE COUNTRY news, updates, new posts & features
Underground in February
Most readers are familiar with the story of the May 22, 1842, discovery by Lester Howe of the cave that bears his name. Perhaps a more important aspect of the tale took place in February the following year—that’s when Howe purchased the cave property from its owner and neighbor Henry Wetsel. Imagine if he hadn’t!
Also, it was in February that fire destroyed the first-class Pavilion Hotel at the cave’s entrance in 1900. This was a three-story resort of approximately 100 rooms with all the modern accoutrements for that era. Built of wood in 1881 as an addition to a stone hotel at the site, the blaze left what remains today, the “Cave House.”
Both items are taken from my 2021 book, “Underground Empires: Two Centuries of Exploration, Adventure and Enterprise in NY’s Cave Country.”
An Unusual Burglary
Fred King, a young man of Howes Cave, was arraigned today before Justice Golding upon charges of burglary by the Helderberg Cement Company.
Upon arraignment, King confessed to having made forcible entrance into a building belonging to the cement company and abstracting theretofrom a pair of pantaloons and a telescope. He claimed he was under the influence of liquor at the time.
Justice Golding committed the prisoner to await the action of the Grand Jury. (From a 1902 Cobleskill Index.)
Pantaloons—no longer in vogue—are men’s tight trousers that fasten at the foot or below the knee.
