Following Directions: Historical Sign Replicated for Cave City
Glen Bray, of the Cave City Welcome Center, got the ball rolling on recreating the directional sign. Photo Credit: Katrina England
By Katrina England
Jobe Publishing, Inc.
A long-forgotten sign was recently recreated for the Cave City Welcome Center. With slight changes made to the distances, thanks to interstates, the sign is otherwise an exact replica of the original sign, which was located on the old Cave City Schoolyard, at Hwy 31W and Hwy 70 in the 1930s.
The sign was created by Ryan Davis with Rustic Revival, a Cave City-based company which uses resin to stabilize beautiful lumber and is still able to apply traditional woodworking techniques to create art.
According to Davis, the challenge was recreating the sign from the one photo only, without having a scale or anything to go by.
Geologist C.R. Mason posed with the original sign, which was located in the school yard. In 1935, Mason was in the area studying the Mammoth Cave passages.
“Linda Hunt showed me this picture originally, and I said ‘We’ve got to get this back in Cave City,’” said Glenn Bray, with the Cave City Welcome Center. “I got in touch with Rustic Revival, and I showed him the picture and asked if he could do it, and Mayor Hatcher got it put up for us through Cave City Tourism.”
The sign sits at the new Welcome Center, located at 821 Mammoth Cave Street in Cave City, across from Long John Silvers.
“I’ve always been drawn to that old sign,” said Linda Hunt. “There was something mesmerizing about it. I have wished for that to be recreated for a long time. I’m so glad that Glen wanted it as badly as I did and got the ball rolling to make it happen. I love that people are taking their pictures with the sign. Hopefully, it will be an icon for many years.”
