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162:. In the early 1800s, the Fort Payne area was a Cherokee settlement named Willstown. This was the home of Sequoyah during his time of creating the Cherokee syllabary. Later, Sequoyah's son wrote on the walls of Manitou Cave using this syllabary, documenting ceremonial events and other culturally significant information and history. In the 1830s, Cherokee people were forcibly relocated from this area along the Trail of Tears, leaving the cave empty for some time. During the
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and security. The
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians helped to secure the gate's purchase. During these conservation and revitalization efforts, the Manitou Cave Snail, called the Antrobis brewerii, was confirmed to still exist in the cave, making Manitou Cave the only place it is known to exist in the world.
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In 2015, Manitou Cave was purchased and a 501(c)3 non-profit, Manitou Cave of
Alabama, was founded by Annette Reynolds to protect and conserve the cave and surrounding property. Repairs, renovations, and conservation efforts followed, including the installation of an eco-friendly cave gate for safety
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In 1888, Manitou Cave was opened by the Fort Payne Coal and Iron
Company and became a tourist destination. Management of Manitou Cave later shifted to the Walter B. Raymond Sr. family, who operated it through the mid-1970s. It closed as a tourist attraction in 1979. For many years Manitou Cave was
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As of 2022, Manitou Cave of AL, Inc. stewards the cave with a mission is "to respect and protect this historic, sacred site through conservation and education so that the cave, land, and water are preserved for visitors and wildlife as a place of peace." To preserve the cave as a living record of
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In 2021, Manitou Cave received certification as a Trail of Tears
National Historic Trail Interpretive Center from The National Park Service National Historic Trail Office, Sante Fe, NM.
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history and to protect the fragile ecosystem, public access is limited to annual community tours a couple times a year and educational research.
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Carroll, Beau; Cressler, Alan; Belt, Tom; Reed, Julie; Simek, Jan (April 10, 2019).
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411:. September 20, 1964. p. 32
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502:. Manitou Cave of Alabama, Inc.
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329:"History of Fort Payne"
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500:"About Us"
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230:1 February
205:References
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
