Melrose Caverns, Inc

The History of Melrose Caverns

The principal building is a large limestone structure (the “Lodge”) originally constructed in 1928-29 as a Civil War museum and entrance facility for the Caverns.

The property lies on the David Harrison homestead, a small part of an extensive pre-revolutionary land grant to the Harrison family of Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties. David, a nephew of Thomas Harrison, the founder of Harrisonburg, discovered the Caverns in 1818. David had inherited the land from his father, Captain Reuben Harrison, who was a prominent landowner and Justice of the Peace in Rockingham, as well as a captain in the Virginia militia. Reuben had inherited the site from his father, John Harrison, Sr. (brother of Thomas Harrison) and his brother, John Harrison, Jr., who held title by patents dating from 1742 to 1771 granted under the authority of Kings George II and George III of England.

The Caverns gained their most recognized historical significance as a result of the Civil War. In April of 1862, Union forces under the command of General Nathanial P. Banks marched south from New Market along the Valley Pike to reinforce advance units already occupying Harrisonburg.

The troops soon discovered the entrance to the Caverns and proceeded to explore the underground chambers with torches. With a regimental band playing music in the echoing grottoes, soldiers from Ohio regiments fired muskets and handguns at some of the columns and carved their names and dates, along with a Union shield and bust of President Lincoln, on various underground formations.

In 1929, Colonel Edward Brown, the developer of Endless Caverns near New Market, seeking to capitalize on the natural beauty and historical significance of the Caverns, leased it from Francis Moore Harrison and her husband, Thomas Moore Harrison, and proceeded to construct the Lodge.

The Caverns, along with a Civil War museum in the Lodge, opened as a commercial tourist attraction in 1932, initially under the name “Blue Grottoes, The Civil War Caverns.”

The commercial success of the Caverns was linked to the rising popularity of automobile tourism in the mid-20th century. Route 11 was regarded as an important link in the “Lee Transcontinental Highway” (the current Lee Highway signs in Virginia having originated to signify the transcontinental route) connecting Washington with San Diego. As Route 11, along with other connecting national highways, received improvements, and the Skyline Drive opened in Shenandoah National Park, the Caverns gained prominence among the other numerous tourist attractions and small motels that made the Shenandoah Valley an attractive leisure destination for the motoring public.

By 1966, however, patterns were changing. The last link of Interstate 81 near Harrisonburg would soon open, diverting traffic away from the entrance to the Caverns on Route 11. Endless Caverns made the decision to cease operations at Melrose and return use of the property to the Harrisons.

Today, the property is owned by Melrose Caverns, Inc. whose sole shareholders are the sons of Elizabeth Harrison Yancey, the only daughter of the prior owner, Francis Moore Harrison. They have applied to the Virginia Historical Society to have this unique property and piece of history be placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The lodge is now open as a venue for all occasions.