Powell Liberty Historical Society

Olentangy Caverns is one of Liberty Township’s oldest tourist attractions—now in its 91st year—but long before visitors paid admission, the site was already a geological marvel wrapped in layers of local lore.

The caverns opened to the public in 1935 under the ownership of two local schoolteachers, S. M. Allgyer and Richard Leitch. Until the early 1800s, the caves were largely unknown to settlers. According to local legend, their discovery came when farmer J. M. Adam’s ox fell through a natural vertical shaft nearly 50 feet deep. Inside one chamber, explorers later found the name G. F. Wells carved into the limesto

Long before European settlement, Native Americans are believed to have used the caverns for centuries. Artifacts recovered from the site suggest the caverns held practical and possibly ceremonial significance, adding to the enduring mystique of the underground landscape.

A Delaware newspaper once asked, “What Burbles Beneath Delaware County?”—a playful nod to the long‑standing belief in an underground river. That idea traces back to Richard Martin, who as a boy crawled into a cave west of the Olentangy River near Liberty Road. After squeezing through roughly 100 feet of passage, he and his friends reached a sudden drop‑off. From below, they claimed to hear the sound of rushing water. Martin repeated the story decades later at age 81, keeping the legend alive.

In 1994, geological consultant and former Powell resident Rick Brown explained that the area surrounding the caverns contains several sinkholes—natural entrances into the same limestone system. One of the most dramatic is Raccoon Cave, where Wildcat Run disappears underground about 1,500 feet east of Liberty Road after heavy rains. Brown knew the caverns well; he served as a tour guide there for four summers during high school.

Brown noted that these features are typical of the region’s Columbus Limestone, a formation created during the Devonian Period roughly 350 million years ago. This band of limestone—80 to 100 feet thick in western Delaware County—stretches nearly 20 miles wide from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Columbus Limestone is very porous allowing more water to flow through it and therefore forming large caverns and underground channels where water can travel unseen.

Even modern infrastructure has encountered these hidden voids. In the 1980s, Del-Co Water drilled two wells on its Liberty Township property that produced 350 gallons per minute but were abandoned due to high mineral content. During construction of a 30‑million‑gallon reservoir in 1987–88, workers discovered a cavern beneath the basin when water drained through a hole “the size of a pickup truck.” The opening had limestone walls and funneled millions of gallons into the subterranean system before being sealed and reinforced.

Today, Olentangy Caverns reaches a depth of about 75 feet and includes three levels open to the public. A rumored fourth level—said to contain blind fish—has never been confirmed, but the story remains part of the site’s folklore.

The modern attraction spans 37 acres, offering not only guided cave tours but also gem mining, a petting zoo, miniature golf, and a walking trail. It remains a place where geology, history, and local storytelling meet.

As Rick and the other guides liked to say at the end of each tour—recalling the tale of the ox that started it all— “If you’re in the area again, do like Mr. Adams’ ox did, and drop in on us.”

The only items that I have are regarding the “fourth level” and the blind fish that are alleged to exist there: When I attempted to get to this deepest level, I was a 13-year-old, 98 pounds, determined youth. It is not possible to get beyond the floor of the eight-foot-deep chimney in Cathedral Hall, so the “blind fish” story is only unfounded speculation.

The passage at the end of the Bell Tower Room, beyond the commercial tour, leads to a 5-foot diameter tunnel that I followed for about 1000 feet. This tunnel can also be accessed via the Bell Tower (just above the big boulder). This tunnel contains many names and dates from the mid 1930’s, and mine, as well. I didn’t find any dates later than 1935.

There were at least two other sink holes on the Caverns property: one was ~50 feet west of the Cave House which allowed a child-sized spelunker to access the Council Chamber and the second sink hole near the southeast corner of the property. The first hole was filled with rock and other debris and the second hole was used as a trash receptacle.

The Artman’s had a new water well drilled near their log house and the well driller told Mrs Artman that a 60-foot-tall room was encountered while drilling.

There has been speculation as to the limestone (Columbus/Indiana Limestone and Delaware Limestone) that contains the Caverns. The base of the Delaware Limestone is defined by the presence of a chert which is immediately overlain by pyritized burrows. In my opinion, based upon this definition, the Columbus/Delaware contact is at shoulder height on the landing where guides give their first speech, i.e. the caverns lie in the Columbus Limestone, but the entrance is in the Delaware Limestone.

There has been speculation as to the limestone (Columbus/Indiana Limestone and Delaware Limestone) that contains the Caverns. The base of the Delaware Limestone is defined by the presence of a chert which is immediately overlain by pyritized burrows. In my opinion, based upon this definition, the Columbus/Delaware contact is at shoulder height on the landing where guides give their first speech, i.e. the caverns lie in the Columbus Limestone, but the entrance is in the Delaware Limestone.

I don’t know if the story about Delaware Indians use of the caverns is accurate, but it could be true. The Caverns were mapped by a geology student for his Masters thesis in the mid 1920’s. I will email it to you if I still have it. The passages were partially-filled, but were open enough to get a Plain Table survey instrument into the Caverns. Also, the names of the early explorers were carved high above the present floor level. Despite the folklore, Chief Leatherlips was not killed at the Caverns, as his gravesite is on the banks of the Scioto River.