Beaver Valley Rock Shelter Site

The Beaver Valley Rock Shelter Site is the only documented cave in the US state of Delaware. It is located in New Castle County near Wilmington and the state line with Pennsylvania.

Beaver Valley Rock Shelter Site
Nearest cityWilmington, Delaware
Arealess than one acre
NRHP reference No.78000910[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 1, 1978

Up until the mid-twentieth century and despite ample historical evidence that Delaware Indians used it for shelter, The National Speleological Society maintained that Delaware was the only state in the union lacking a cave.[2] In 1958, a local resident, George Jackson, added this cave to the national cave files.[3] The cave was the focus of research in the 1940s when the Archeological Society of Delaware conducted a dig which revealed conclusively that Indians had used it for shelter and storage.[2] Sitting just 100 feet from the Pennsylvania border this small cave extends just 56 feet to its furthest reach, but has become one of the most researched caves in the United States relative to its size. Jack Speece notes that the cave has gone by many names in its history. Indian Cave, Beaver Valley Rock Shelter, and Wolf Rock Cave preceded the now more commonly accepted "Beaver Valley Cave".[2]

The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Speece, Jack. H. "The Cave of Delaware." History Session: Proceedings of the National Speleological Society Convention, Alpena, Michigan, August 4, 1977.
  3. Jackson, George F., "Caves in Delaware", NSS News, Vol. 16, No. 10, p. 99 Oct. 1958


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