I am fascinated by the old caves and cellars German American brewers used back in the 19th century to lager their beer. Over the years, in the course of my research, I’ve received valuable information and inspiration on several occasions from Joe Light and Craig Williams about the underground world that exists under St. Louis. Several years ago, I saw a presentation on Uhrig’s Cave that Light gave out in Kirkwood at a Meremac Valley Grotto meeting and was amazed at the images of the seemingly lost cellars under downtown. Consequently, this year, I jumped at the opportunity to attend a presentation at Urban Chestnut about a brewery cellar Light and Williams had explored with fellow members of CAIRN, Cave Archaeology Investigation & Research Network, which has been exploring and documenting caves in Missouri, particularly the St. Louis area, since 2008. I sat down with Light and Williams recently to learn about their organization’s inspiration and what their work entails.
“I grew up in South St. Louis County surrounded by caves; it wasn’t a choice,” explains Light. “The first cave I explored at 16 doesn’t even have a name; it’s about 100 feet long. You can’t teach the love of exploring caves—you have to have the ‘disease.’”
For Williams, the story is a little more complex. “I had an interest in caves and archeology in college,” he says, adding he went on to study archeology in graduate school at New Mexico State University. He originally faced some skepticism from his professors, who believed that the United States lacked the kinds of archeologically important caves that Mexico possesses in abundance. Interestingly, his love of exploring caves began when interviewing an elderly resident about outlaws staging their own deaths in the wilderness outside of town. Back in the 1950s, people would pay the man to explore caves and bring back artifacts. The nonagenarian revealed the location of one cave in particular he believed Williams should investigate.
“The cave was out in the desert, and when we went inside, we found pottery, and old sandals forcing artifacts into cracks for ceremonial purposes. It has to strike your eye; this doesn’t belong here. That is where an archeologist comes in,” Williams explains.
“We saw the need to just focus on this, and that was the beginning of CAIRN. It was originally for academia, to support other caves archeologists. One thing leads to another. We were working with Meramec Valley Grotto, and then it took off,” Williams says. “We currently have photographers, biologists, archaeologists, an underwater archaeologist, geological engineer, religious studies experts, computer gurus, artists and a forensic anthropologist who is also a death investigator for St. Louis County. Light would find new places to explore, and I would just get a text, ‘Do you want to go in this cave?’”
One of the earliest CAIRN investigations was the cave in New Mexico that had originally intrigued Williams. But the old brewery cellar that captured my attention recently was the one Williams and Light presented at the Urban Chestnut event. It is also one of their favorite explorations, but due to privacy, its location and original builder will remain confidential.
“The cellar is fascinating because there’s so much there,” Williams says. “There are so many artifacts. It had a short lifespan, and hardly anyone’s been in there. It has more places to explore; we just can’t get to them,” he says. After the presentation, attendees tried to pry the location out of the C.A.I.R.N. members.
Light laughs, “People thought they knew where it was, but they didn’t!”
Perhaps what is most valuable about the organization is the variety of specialties each member brings to the table, says Light. “Craig sees stuff I don’t see. I don’t have the eye like Craig does.”
Williams also says that prehistoric people went back further into caves than most people might believe. “We look for rock art, mostly carvings. There are some paintings in caves, but mostly they’re petroglyphs” in Missouri.
“You’ll hear stories, and you’ll read articles, but when you present it to the academic world or the State of Missouri, you’re going to be asked to prove it,” explains Williams. “To protect a lot of these caves, you still need data” to convince authorities and scholars of the importance of the cave.
Light and Williams are always interested in hearing about possible caves in the St. Louis region, and will always maintain confidentiality with the owners. “We’re looking for any caves in St. Louis City or County,” Light says. “So far, we know of at least 30 caves and growing in the City, and around 130 in St. Louis County. You have to convince people that they have something valuable,” continues Light. “There’s a lot of manholes in St. Louis that go to cellars, but some are just sewer grates. Also, there are a lot of bricked-up passageways that lead to somewhere.”
“We’re in it for the right reasons,” Williams adds. “We’re not going to go in and do anything the [owners] do not want us to do. When you develop trust with one owner, it opens up doors to others. People need to trust you. We want to get a good mix of different types of caves, as well.”
Judging by their work so far, St. Louis can look forward to decades of exploration and discoveries from the members of CAIRN.
CAIRN participants are the following: Susie Jansen, Jessi Schoenewies, Michael Schoenewies, Stefanie Voss, Dr. Lindsay Trammell, Dr. Peter Campbell, Kristie Metzger, Kevin Hizer, Billie Hainds, Paul Konrad, Amanda Konrad, Krista Marshall, Kristen Carroll, Michael Eaton, Carolyn Stineman Eaton, Taryn Hicks-McLeroy, Richard Pack, Mike Tennant, Natalia Kolk Tennant, Dr. Chris Begley, and Adam McBrady.
Chris Naffziger writes about architecture at St. Louis Patina. Contact him via email at [email protected].
