Horse Cave

History

The town was settled by Major Albert Anderson in the 1840s. The landowner donated land for a Louisville and Nashville Railroad station in 1858 on the provision that it be named after nearby Horse Cave. The community around the station developed quickly, so that a post office was erected in 1860, and the city was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1864. The cave for which the city is named is located on the south side of Main Street. Various explanations are given for its unusual name. One is that Native Americans or outlaws hid horses in the cave; another is that an early carriage may have lost a horse when it fell into the opening by accident; a third reason involves the 19th-century use of "horse" as slang for anything big or huge, related to a similar use of the Swedish hoss. The cave has also been known as "Hidden River Cave", for an underground stream located inside. The town changed its name to "Caverna" in 1869, but the inability to change the name of the railroad station prompted the community to reconsider and restore the name "Horse Cave" in 1879. Hidden River Cave/American Cave Museum, and the nearby Mammoth Cave National Park. Civil War Days are an annual tourist event, during which time parades down Main Street and reenactments of the Battle of Rowlett's Station between Horse Cave and Munfordville are staged. A local theatre formerly known as the Horse Cave Theatre and/or the Kentucky Repertory Theatre once operated in Horse Cave, but it has ended operations in 2012. Horse Cave has served as a filming location for several films, including "Runaway Romance" and "Never Forgive." Artist Joseph Dudley Downing (1925–2007) was born and grew up in Horse Cave, where he graduated valedictorian of his class. In 1980, an exhibition of 150 of his…

Geography

Horse Cave's southern border is the Barren County line and the border of Cave City. U.S. Route 31W (Dixie Street) is the main road through Horse Cave, leading north to Munfordville and southwest through Cave City to Park City near the entrance to Mammoth Cave National Park. Interstate 65 passes west of Horse Cave, with access from Exit 58. I-65 leads north to Louisville and southwest to Nashville, Tennessee. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Horse Cave has a total area of , of which , or 0.74%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Hart County High School
  High · Munfordville · 679 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Munfordville Elementary School
  Elementary · Munfordville · 492 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Legrande Elementary School
  Elementary · Horse Cave · 294 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• Caverna High School
  High · Horse Cave · 208 students · 13:1 ratio
• Caverna Middle School
  Middle · Horse Cave · 129 students · 11.7:1 ratio