If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 725

 

 

 

 

 

Lewis and Clark Cavern, Montana “Swiss Village”

 

This unused postcard features an area within the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, found in Jefferson County, Montana.  The card was published by L.W, Link, of Caldwell, Montana and produced by Mike Roberts Color Productions, of Berkeley, California.  The identifier, C15820 is at the lower left corner on the reverse.  The blurb, bound at the upper left on the reverse, says:  “Lewis and Clark Cavern, Montana – Swiss Village—A small housing development fashioned by nature in the Paradise Room.  This is the largest room in the cavern and is abundantly supplied with a solid array of imaginary shapes.”  T.W. Link”

 

The park has two visitor centers, 10 miles of hiking trails, a campground and these limestone caverns.  In 2018 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is a public recreation and nature preservation area and covers 3,000 acres or 1,200 ha. 

 

Even though there is no documented evidence of human presence in the cave before the late 1800s, these caverns may have been familiar to Native Americans.  The park is named after explorers, Lewis and Clark, who camped near the caverns in 1805.  It wasn’t until 1898 that a local rancher, Tom Williams, who had seen them in 1892, finally explored the caverns with some friends.  Tours of the cave began around 1900. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Caverns