Throwback Thursday – The Horse Cave cell phone history tour

We’ve been telling more southern Kentucky stories outside Warren County this summer, giving viewers a chance to explore more of what’s in their own backyard. In nearby Hart County, Horse Cave’s downtown sits on top of Hidden River Cave’s main entrance. Visitors walking down Main Street can catch a glimpse looking downward straight into the cave’s mouth. Downtown Horse Cave is also home to a free cell phone tour, one driven by QR codes that tell 20 stories of Horse Cave’s unique history.

Visitors need only head to Main Street, where they will find several signs acting as both directional tools and museum-style storyboards. With the simple scan of a QR code, a visitor has the chance to hear stories told thru firsthand accounts of Horse Cave residents from the past and present. 

This unique digital tour was the first of its kind in southern Kentucky when it launched nearly 10 years ago. Through hours of research and oral interviews, the project was made possible thru the City of Horse Cave, the Horse Cave/Hart County Tourist Commission, Horse Cave Development Program, the Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Humanities Council, the National Park Service’s Preserve America Program, the National Endowment of the Arts, the Kentucky Historical Society, the Kentucky Oral History Commission, and the Kentucky Museum and Library. 

The Horse Cave cell phone tour is divided into “above” and “below” ground stories, sharing histories from the founding of the city, the impact of Hidden River Cave and the Cave Wars, the arts and the Kentucky Repertory Theatre, tobacco heritage, integration and civil rights era history, and so much more. Next time you’re nearby, stop for awhile and listen to the stories that made Horse Cave.

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Throwback Thursday is brought to you by Hart County Tourism.