Crawford State Park, the only state park in Pend Oreille County, is the site of Gardner’s Cave—the largest limestone cave system in the state. Ed Gardner, for whom the caverns were named, homesteaded in the area and “discovered’ the caves around 1900, but the purported discovery is almost as mysterious as the cave system itself.

According to local lore, Gardner was a well-known bootlegger whose horse stumbled upon a small opening in the earth while they were out checking moonshine stills one afternoon. The real history is a bit more complicated. TheNewport Minerreported on July 13, 1903, that a “Mr. Gould” discovered the caves. Then, on August 4, 1903, it reported that a “Scandinavian” discovered it. Five years later, another story in the same publication attributed the find to Gardner, who claimed he found it while hunting and then showed it to Gould.

Regardless of the true story, a 1903 exploration party documented the cave and described the scene:

“The first 600 feet is gorgeously draped and festooned with stalactites and stalagmites in many grotesque forms. . . . At two places along the wall are numerous stalactites, which by striking sharply, produce clear notes which resemble those of a piano. . . . At one side of this chamber is a wonderful formation resembling a frozen waterfall, near which is an overhanging canopy with a well-formed seat at the base. This is “The Throne,” and from it one can see all the principal beauties of this marvelous “chamber of wonders.”’

As more people “discovered” the cave, it became a source of pride in Pend Oreille County. Metaline merchant William Crawford acquired and deeded the 20 acres surrounding the cave opening to the State of Washington, making it the first state park in eastern Washington.

Credits and Sources:

Bamonte, Tony, and Susan Schaeffer Bamonte. History of Pend Oreille County. Spokane: Tornado Creek Publicans, 1996.

Dingee, Ruby. “Historical Sketches of Pend Oreille County.” In M. Claire Howe, editor,Historical Sketches of Pend Oreille County as Told by Its Pioneer.1930, reprint; Newport, WA: Pend Oreille County Historical Museum, 1979.

Kane-John, Merriann. “I, Too, Discovered Gardner Cave.”Big Smoke, 1986.

 

Photographs courtesy of the Pend Oreille County Historical Society and Pend Oreille CountyLibrary District.