COLUMBUS, OH -- A bronze marker, recognizing the sandstone rock formations of Old Man's Cave at Hocking Hills State Park as a unique feature of Ohio's geology, was dedicated today as part of the state's Bicentennial celebration, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
The marker is one of 10 that ODNR, with the financial support of International Paper Company, is erecting around the state. Each designates an important aspect of Ohio's natural history. Additional marker sites are Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve in Greene County, Big and Little Darby Creeks in Franklin County, Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area in Ottawa County, Killdeer Plains State Wildlife Area in Wyandot County, Salt Fork State Wildlife Area in Guernsey County, Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve in Erie County, Clear Fork Gorge State Nature Preserve in Ashland County, Spring Valley State Wildlife Area in Greene and Warren counties, and Marblehead Lighthouse State Park in Ottawa County.
More than 200 similar markers, each associated with an important aspect of Ohio's 200-year history, are going up in this Bicentennial year as part of the Ohio Heritage Marker Program.
The recess of Old Man's Cave was created over time as water percolated through the porous layers of bedrock and undermined the soft sandstone beneath the harder top layer that forms the cave's roof. In the early 1800s, the cave was home to a recluse named Richard Rowe from whom it received its popular name.