STANTON, Mo. — Have you ever wanted to take a cave tour? Or learn more about American Outlaw Jesse James? If so, this hidden gem in Franklin County is the place for you.
All summer, Today in St. Louis is inviting you to explore places you can visit from St. Louis within one tank of gas.
The second stop in Today in St. Louis' One Tank Trips series, is Meramec Caverns.
What’s most interesting about Meramec Caverns? There’s so much to do that you could spend days doing different things.
This beloved Midwest landmark hits all possible emotions on the human entertainment spectrum.
Explore the sheer awesomeness of nature in the cavern, satisfy your true-crime curiosity by learning about American outlaw Jesse James and his use of the caves, take a leap of adventure on the zipline, watch a lightshow in the cool depths of the caverns or take a romantic ride on a riverboat.
Meramec Caverns is located in Stanton, Missouri along Interstate 44. It's known as Missouri's "buried treasure" according to the Meramec Caverns website.
The caverns have an extensive history, dating all the way back to their discovery in 1720. Known then as the Saltpeter Cave, the caverns were used for mining of saltpeter, a key component used in the creation of gunpowder in that time period, until the Civil War, according to Meramec Caverns' website.
Lester Benton Dill purchased the caverns from its previous owners in 1933. From then on, the caves became known as Meramec Caverns. Dill opened the caves to the public and began hosting cave tours.
Meramec Caverns' cave tours have continued since Dill's purchase of the caves 90 years ago.
Les Turilli is the current owner of Meramec Caverns and he’s a fascinating person. He has a voice as deep as James Earl Jones and he even ran for Governor in 2016.
He shared so many wonderful stories about his great-grandfather, Les Dill, the visionary who developed the cave.
Including how he became a pioneer in the creation of the bumper sticker. Back then, they were known as "bumper signs" and Dill would have people known as the "Bumper Sign Boys" tie the signs onto people's cars to give the Caverns free advertisement and give visitors a free souvenir, according to Meramec Caverns' website.
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