Description

About this book

“Jewel Cave National Monument” is a 128-page pictorial history of the cave, the people who discovered and explored it, and the National Park Service personnel who have managed it since 1908. Author Judy L. Love, who lives in Custer, South Dakota, drew on archival collections, oral histories with descendants of the original discoverers, and the records of the explorers who mapped the cave’s interior.

The book opens with the 1900 discovery. Frank and Albert Michaud, two prospector brothers, noticed wind rushing from a small opening in a Black Hills canyon. They enlarged the hole, climbed down, and found passages lined with calcite crystals: dogtooth spar, sharp and pointed, and nailhead spar, flat and blunt. They named the cave for those crystals and tried unsuccessfully to develop it as a tourist attraction. Theodore Roosevelt designated the cave a National Monument in 1908.

For the next half century, Jewel Cave was a small monument with a small known cave. Less than two miles had been mapped by 1959. The book documents the Civilian Conservation Corps work in the 1930s, the early ranger-led tours, and then the arrival of Jan and Herb Conn. The Conns were a husband-and-wife climbing team who took up cave exploration in middle age and added more than 64 miles of new passage to the survey through the 1960s and 1970s. Their work transformed Jewel Cave from a roadside oddity into one of the longest known caves in the world.

Published in 2008 to mark the cave’s 100th anniversary as a National Monument, the book describes Jewel Cave as the world’s second-longest cave, which was accurate at the time. Sistema Sac Actun in Mexico has since been measured at a longer underwater length, and Jewel Cave is now ranked third worldwide. The cave’s surveyed length has continued to grow: 200 miles was crossed in a single survey night in December 2018, and the figure is over 220 miles as of 2026. The book is the historical record up to the cave’s centennial; the survey work documented in its later chapters has continued at a steady pace ever since.

What’s inside

• More than 200 vintage and archival photographs covering the cave’s discovery, exploration, and management
• The 1900 discovery story, with photographs of Frank and Albert Michaud and the Michaud family’s early development efforts
• Theodore Roosevelt’s 1908 proclamation establishing the National Monument
• Civilian Conservation Corps work in the 1930s: trail building, structure construction, and early visitor infrastructure
• Jan and Herb Conn’s exploration era: maps, photographs of survey teams, and accounts of the major passage discoveries
• The geology of the cave: dogtooth spar, nailhead spar, boxwork, cave popcorn, flowstone, and the calcite ribbon known as cave bacon
• Ranger and visitor history through the cave’s first century

Specifications

• Pages: 128
• Dimensions: 9.25″ x 6.5″
• Weight: 10.3 oz
• Binding: Paperback
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Series: Images of America
• Author: Judy L. Love
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7385-6198-1
• Published: December 15, 2008
• Language: English

Who is this for?

Visitors who have taken the Scenic Tour, the Historic Lantern Tour, or the Wild Caving Tour and want the rest of the story. Tour guides cover the highlights, but a 90-minute walk does not have time for the Michauds’ biography, the CCC work, or the decade-by-decade survey progression. The book fills that in with primary-source photographs.

Caving and exploration readers. The Conns are widely regarded as one of the most important caving teams of the 20th century, and Jewel Cave is the book that documents their work most directly. If you have read about Mammoth Cave’s Cave Research Foundation or about the Lechuguilla survey, this is the equivalent record for Jewel.

Collectors of the Images of America series. Arcadia publishes hundreds of these pictorial history volumes covering towns, parks, and landmarks across the country. This volume is one of the few in the series dedicated to a cave.

Local readers in the Black Hills. The book is written by a Custer, SD resident who used local archives. Place names, family names, and ranch locations will be familiar to readers who already know the region.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Images of America series?
Images of America is Arcadia Publishing’s pictorial history series. Each volume tells the story of a place, institution, or subject through historical photographs from local archives. There are thousands of titles in the series. This volume covers Jewel Cave National Monument from its 1900 discovery through its 2008 centennial.

How long is Jewel Cave?
220+ miles of surveyed passage as of 2026, ranking it the third-longest cave in the world. The cave was around 145 surveyed miles when this book was published in 2008, and Sistema Sac Actun in Mexico has since been measured at a longer underwater length, which dropped Jewel Cave from second to third place worldwide. The volunteer survey at Jewel Cave continues, and the figure grows by several miles in active years.

Why is the book called “second-longest” if it is now third?
The book was published in 2008. Jewel Cave was the world’s second-longest cave at that time. The Sistema Sac Actun underwater survey results that pushed Jewel Cave to third came later. The book’s text is a historical record of what was known in 2008. The current ranking is third.

Who discovered the cave?
Frank and Albert Michaud, two prospector brothers, in 1900. They noticed wind rushing out of a small opening in a Black Hills canyon and enlarged the hole to climb down. They found passages lined with calcite crystals and named the cave for the jewel-like appearance of those crystals.

Who are Jan and Herb Conn?
A husband-and-wife climbing team who took up cave exploration in middle age and surveyed more than 64 miles of new passage at Jewel Cave through the 1960s and 1970s. Their work is the central reason Jewel Cave is known as a major cave today. Less than two miles had been mapped before they started. Their story is the spine of the book’s middle chapters.

How does this book compare to a guided cave tour?
A tour gives you the experience of being inside the cave. The book gives you the history of how it got that way. The Scenic Tour shows the formations and the developed paths. The Historic Lantern Tour follows the Michauds’ route. The Wild Caving Tour gets you off-trail. The book documents how each of those routes was discovered, surveyed, and opened to the public, with photographs you cannot see during a tour.

Can I get a Passport stamp at Jewel Cave?
Yes. Jewel Cave National Monument is an NPS site and participates in the Passport to Your National Parks program. The visitor center at 11149 US-16, Building B12, Custer SD has the cancellation stamp. BHPFA partner sites with Passport stamps are Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.

Does buying this support Jewel Cave National Monument?
Yes. BHPFA is the official nonprofit partner of Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, as well as the Black Hills National Forest and Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands. Proceeds from every purchase support education programs, conservation projects, and visitor services at these sites.

Is a digital edition available?
A Kindle edition has been available through Amazon. ISBN 978-0-7385-6198-1 is the print edition sold here.

About Jewel Cave National Monument

Jewel Cave National Monument sits in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, on US-16 between Custer and Newcastle, Wyoming. The visitor center is at 11149 US-16, Building B12, Custer SD 57730. Theodore Roosevelt established it as a National Monument in 1908. With more than 220 miles of surveyed passage as of 2026, it is the third-longest cave in the world. The monument offers the Scenic Tour (paved paths, standard walking), the Historic Lantern Tour (candlelit, following the Michauds’ original route), and the Wild Caving Tour (off-trail, advanced).