Drought in Ozark region exposes lost sections of caves used by Civil War spies as hideout

Explorers have mapped another 1,100 feet of iconic caves in the Ozarks used by Civil War troops after severe droughts exposed lost portions of the network.

Long lost portions of the Smallin Civil War Cave system have been cleared of water during an extremely dry spell in Missouri and surrounding Midwestern states.

Explorers venturing into the previously flooded parts have made a fascinating collection of discoveries, including bones, Civil War relics — and even a suspected mastodon elephant tooth.

Some parts of the vast underground network have not been visited by humans for decades. Experts now believe that some of the rediscovered corridors may extend more than 2,000 feet.

Kevin Bright, owner of the Smallin Civil War Cave center, said more discoveries could be made

Explores found bones, Civil War relics and fossils in the long-lost parts of the caves

Kevin Bright, owner of the tourist attraction Smallin Civil War Cave, said: KY3: ‘Every time we have a flood, it moves our gravel and reveals things from the past that come into the cave system and have been preserved.

“We’ve now mapped another 1,100 feet of passageway beyond this question mark, and they estimate a total of about 2,000 feet.

“Now the 1,100 feet, the most you can stand in, and our trademark of Smallin Cave is damstone dams, and it turns out this passage in this passage continues with more damstone dam after rimstone dam.”

Bright said people have gathered at the cave “since the earliest times.”

It is believed that there is still more to discover after drought exposes parts of the network

Fragments of a Mastodon elephant tooth discovered in the Smallin cave system

The map of the cave network has expanded significantly after the drought-exposed areas

The Smallin Civil War Cave is located in Ozark, Missouri, and was first mapped in the 1800s

He told the New York Post: ‘It was a meeting place on Sunday after church, where women received letters from their relatives.

‘There were three [Union] spies associated with the cave.

“Throughout history, it has been common to have droughts. There was a severe drought in the Ozarks during the Civil War.”

Before the invention of the washing machine, women used the cave as a “laundry,” Bright said.

“That’s where the ladies would go and wash their clothes in the opening of the cave.”

The cave has been a gathering point for families for centuries and was first mapped in the 1800s

Kevin Bright said ‘the cave was a laundromat’ because women would wash clothes in the opening

John Gunn, a professor at the University of Birmingham, said: News week: ‘Drought allows speleologists to enter passages that were formed tens of thousands of years ago but have recently been filled with water.’

He said the cave network was similar to Bubble Springs cave in the Peak District in Derbyshire, England.

Gunn said, “The Bubble Springs cave is filled with water most of the year, sometimes filled with water all year round, but during droughts we can descend and explore the cave.”

Smallin Cave was explored in the early 1800s by geologist Henry Rowe Schoolcraft.

He documented his findings during a 900-mile trek through the Ozarks between 1818 and 1819.

The hit Netflix drama Ozark, starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, is set in the region

The Ozarks is a huge swath of land that spans five states and includes two mountain ranges, caves, waterways, and forests.

The hit Netflix drama Ozark, starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, is set around the Lake of the Ozarks.

The name comes from the French aux Arcs, an abbreviation of aux Arcansas.