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Cave City
In Sharp County is worth exploring, but not just for its cave
Written by: Tracy L. Crain
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Sunday, January 28, 2001

A little past Batesville, along U.S. 167 North, the community of Cave City rests peacefully.

There are roughly 1,500 people here, mostly farmers, known for growing some of the "sweetest watermelon on the vines."

Seriously. Watermelon farming is so serious in this community that one of the local artists painted a mural on one of side offices in the historic downtown area dedicated to the community's love and pride in watermelon farming.

Townsfolk are quick to comment on the mural' beauty. They are proud of it.

Driving into the area, it's difficult to see that there is anything besides watermelon farming of significance here. But, there is.

The town also has underground cave dwellings, here where travelers are greeted with a friendly, rural scene comprised of wildflower pastures, planted and maintained alongside the roads. There's not much traffic, only the appearance of an occasional convoy of trucks, making their way from the Batesville area.

Keith Mize, 43, has lived here since 1957. He says Cave City is a good, small town. "It's really the people who make this place so different." he said. "The atmosphere's different."

According to the local library, Cave City was founded in the late 1800s and was originally called Horn's Cave, after Henry Horn, who settled in the area sometime near 1870.

When J. A. and J.W. Laman moved to Horn's Cave to start a town, William Stewart, postmaster at Loyal, moved a post office to the Laman development and the name changed to Cave City.

The cave, located off of 167 North, has a river inside it. Mize describes it as an old American Indian cave with blind fish in the river.

"The fish are blind because they swim in the dark all the time," he said. "There's no light in there, so they can't see."

In addition to the cave tours and the frisky blind fish, Cave City is also home to a few celebrities-- some not so famous and some almost famous.

"One of our residents was interviewed for an article in the National Geographic magazine," Mize said. "Everybody thought that was a really big deal. There is also Charles Landers who could tell you anything about this town."

As for commerce, Cave City is one of the few areas that can tout the good news of its expansion.

"We're a small community, but we're growing," Mize said. "It's certainly a better place to raise your kids than the larger ones in terms of drugs and alcohol. It's not fast-placed around here."

The town is home to a grocery store, two banks, a few restaurants, two florists and various other small businesses and churches. One church, that has a billboard sign located next to the road, reads, "We don't change the message, the message changes us."

Community functions that serve to keep folks around here somewhat acquainted, include an annual Christmas parade and of course a watermelon festival.

The Cave City Watermelon Festival, held every August, is an event where residents participate in a parade, sing, hold talent contests and participate in various other games and crafts.

Long-time resident Jean Mize said the Christmas parade has been offered every year that she can remember except for this past one when it was cancelled because of the weather.

"We got snowed out and froze out," she said.

When it comes to life in her town, Jean is appreciative of her neighbors and the family roots she has here.

"Five of my brothers went to school in Cave City, and now their grandchildren go to school here," she said.

"Cave City has changed throughout the years," Jean said. "What once was home to two theaters and four grocery stores has now been converted into a historical business shopping square that offers residents a choice of everything from appliance stores to floral shops. I miss the way it used to be. It was really a hometown atmosphere back then. This is still a good place to live, but it's different."

Other residents describe it as "a clean, friendly place." To some extent, it certainly appears that way.

A church sign, on display at the south side of town, reads, "Salvation is a free gift."

Cave City, for all its wonder, definitely has a distinct feel to it.

(Cave City is an excerpt from Road Trips; a weekly feature of small towns in Arkansas written by Tracy Crain and published by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.)