BLUE MOUNDS, Wis. (WMTV) – Long before Wisconsin became a state, water was already shaping what would become one of its most enduring classrooms.
Cave of the Mounds, a National Natural Landmark just west of Madison, has welcomed millions of students underground since opening to the public in 1940 — turning geology into a hands-on lesson that many visitors remember for a lifetime.
“You know, I was thinking like, how many has it been?” said Joe Klimczak, the cave’s general manager. “And it’s been more than two million, maybe two and a half million school kids on field trips since Cave of the Mounds opened in 1940.”
The cave itself began forming about two million years ago as water slowly dissolved limestone bedrock that dates back more than 400 million years to the Ordovician Period. Completely sealed off from the outside world, it remained hidden until August 4, 1939, when quarry workers accidentally broke into it while blasting rock on Brigham Farm…