History
of Durham Caves/Mines and Bat Colony
The
famous caves of Durham are made of limestone. Durham Cave #1 and Durham
Cave #2 are located in the triangle formed by U.S. Route 611 and PA Route
212. In the History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, edited by J.H. Battle,
(1887) it describes the caves as follows:
"A correct and an graphic picture of the cave as it existed before
1848 . . . first apartment entered by decent of about 30 feet . . . the floor
of the
second room is lower than the first . . . the third is still lower . . . in
the bottom is a spring of excellent water, supposed to communicate with the
creek
or river . . . the entire length of cavern from north to south is about ninety
yards . . . At present, through devices of man, the cave is one grand and spacious
level combing the second and third levels. Queen Esther’s drawing room
still in its natural condition."
Durham Cave #1 is also well known for it’s archeological finds— "flint
arrow-heads, stone hammers, beads, pestles, parts of human skeleton, and
fossil bones of extinct animals." The Lenni Lenape lived here for centuries
prior to and after the Europeans came to Durham in the late 1600s. From Durham
Cave
#1 is a path that leads up to Durham Cave #2 which consists of the PRETTY
ROOM housing mineral deposits, the BONE PASSAGE named so because bones of
an opossum
and raccoon were found there, and the WAITING ROOM.
Durham has five defunct
mines. Two are located on Rattlesnake Hill and three are located on Mine
Hill. One of the mines on Mine Hill, aptly named Durham
Mine (fitted with "bat-friendly" gates) is home to such national
treasures, as the little brown bat, big brown bat, and the eastern pipistrelle
(who are
good for the environment as they eat mosquitoes and insects that destroy
crops). It is said that 1,500 bats reside in the Old Durham Furnace Mine
Cave. It is
the second largest bat hibernarium in Pennsylvania. Bats are known to eat
1,200 mosquitoes in one hour, one expert has concluded. He also said that
they are
intelligent, clean, and good to have in the community. The Durham bats are
welcome to use the Old Mine Shafts. They are good citizens. The Hibernarium
is located
on private property and the entrances are protected against human entry.
