<P> In 1939, explorers found the remains of a Pleistocene jaguar . The persons who made the discovery were cave guides Jack Kyker and Clarence Hicks, who were exploring in the cave during their off hours . They reported their find to Dr. W.J. Cameron and W.E. Michael of Sweetwater, who were the current owners of the cave . The owners submitted the bones to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where they were identified as bones of a very large jaguar and an elk fawn . George Gaylord Simpson, a vertebrate paleontologist at the museum, subsequently visited Craighead Caverns in May 1940 . During his visit, he recovered additional jaguar bones and made casts of several jaguar footprints in the mud floor of the cave . His excavation and findings are reported in American Museum Novitates, No. 1131 (August 6, 1941) on pages 1--12 . The report includes photographs of the bones and footprints . </P> <P> A mushroom farm was operated in the cave from 1939 to 1940 . The manure for this operation was supplied from Fort Oglethorpe, where many horses were stabled . The mushroom beds were located in the Big Room, a few hundred feet northeast of the Historic Entrance . In 1947, a wooden dance floor was built in this same area of the cave, and a nightclub, known as the "Cavern Tavern", was operated in the cave . </P> <P> Craighead Caverns was added to the National Park Service list of National Natural Landmarks in 1974 . </P> <P> The lake was discovered in 1905 by a thirteen - year - old boy named Ben Sands . As the story goes Sands, who often played in the cave, happened upon a small opening and crawled through . The room was so large he was unable to see the ends of the room with his lantern, so he threw balls of mud in all directions and heard splashes . When he went back home and told people of his discovery they were hesitant to believe him . By the time Ben convinced his father to go back down with him to explore it further, the water level had risen, hiding the cave entrance from them . It was rediscovered by local explorers several years later . </P>

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