HISTORY
Tom Lightner Sr., who had owned the farm for more that 50 years,
died in January, 2000. He directed in his will that his executor,
Tom Lightner, Jr., must sell the farm and distribute the proceeds
to the heirs. Accordingly, the farm was subdivided, by survey,
into 38 lots, and these lots were offered at auction on September
30, 2000. WVCC representatives attended the auction and offered
the highest bid on the parcel that contained the Lightner Entrance,
but all bids for all the parcels of the entire farm were rejected.
Subsequently, WVCC representatives entered into negotiations
with Tom Lightner, Jr. that resulted in the purchase by WVCC
of a tract of land that includes the Lightner’s Entrance.
The Lightner’s Entrance is an approximately 60 foot drop
into a large room that is tied into the Tufa Trail and Freeman
Avenue area of McClung’s Cave. The Lightner’s Entrance
was discovered in 1985, and was subsequently closed in 1986 by
the owner due to a lost-caver incident. This entrance affords
relatively easy access to the south-western portions of McClung’s
Cave. This area is one of the most remote sections from the historic
McClung’s Entrance.
The systematic exploration and survey of McClung’s Cave
began in the mid 1950's. By the late 1960's, this project had
been adopted by The West Virginia Association for Cave Studies
as an on-going project.
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