Originally named "Grapevine Cave", the only entrance was a long vertical drop into which farmers used to dump dead livestock and other trash. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University "discovered" the cave in 1942. It was surveyed in the 1960s and found to contain over a mile of interconnected passages that reach a depth of 245 feet below the surface.Lost World Caverns brochure In 1967, the remains of a prehistoric cave bear (Arctodus pristinus) were unearthed in the cave.
