Niagara Cave of Harmony, Minn., approaches its 100th year anniversary. Due to the cave’s specific date of discovery being unknown, cave owner Mark Bishop stated Niagara’s anniversary will be celebrated Saturday, June 1. Bishop chose June 1 as the celebration date as the cave became open for tours June 1, 1934.
On June 1, Niagara will host a variety of fun events. A free round of miniature golf will be offered all day, with no reservation requirement. Gift certificates will be awarded and can be used at the cave’s gift shop. Once evening rolls around, Niagara will hold lantern tours, which do require prior reservation.
Niagara is rolling out a new event this summer season called black light tours. The tours will be available several times over the course of the season.
Niagara Cave’s discovery took place a century ago back in 1924. Cave explorers Joe Flynn, Al Cremer, and Leo Tekippe had obtained the cave’s lease agreement from landowner John Kennedy. Flynn, Cremer and Tekippe worked to develop the cave. The trio’s work paid off and the cave became available for public tours in 1934.
Three families have owned and operated Niagara Cave over the last century.
The first family, the Cremers, took ownership and bought out the other two partners – Flynn and Tekippe. Al Cremer died during the mid-1970s; after his death, his wife Rose Cremer operated the cave herself until the early 1980s.
The second family to take ownership was the Vikre family. In 1982, Jeanine Vikre acquired the cave’s lease from an auction. Jeanine Vikre and her son Ron officially purchased Niagara Cave in 1985.
The third, and last, family to acquire Niagara’s ownership in spring of 1995 was Mark and his wife Jennifer Bishop. Niagara Cave first caught Mark’s eye when it was listed in a newspaper. Bishop stated, “I saw that it was for sale in the Rochester newspaper in 1994.” At the time, Bishops resided in Rochester, Minn., and had been looking to relocate to a smaller community.
Bishop originally haled from small town Byron, Minn. In college, he double majored and earned a degree in physical geography. He also had a moderate business background prior to acquiring Niagara Cave, as well as had experience working in real estate, roofing, insulating, and maintenance. Mark took great interest in Niagara Cave, stating, “I’ve been a rock hound my whole life!”
Bishop gladly shared, “It’s really fun meeting new people all the time.” He enjoys showing the cave to others and seeing people’s reaction to Niagara Cave.
To this day, Mark, Jennifer and their two sons, Ryan and Aaron Bishop operate Niagara Cave. Ryan and Aaron plan to continue Niagara’s operation in the future. The family always looks for new activities to offer in order to make the cave experience even more enjoyable.
In the fall of 2024, the Minnesota state bike trail will be coming through with its construction already beginning. Also in the fall of 2024, Niagara Cave will host the yearly National Cave Association meeting.
In 2021, Niagara Cave made USA Today’s Minnesota bucket list.
In 2016, USA Today concluded Niagara Cave was voted #2 for people’s favorite caves.
In August 2015, an offsite photo-voltaic solar panel array was constructed. The array allowed the Niagara Cave business to operate using energy produced by the sun, making it the world’s first commercial cave.
Apart from Niagara’s unique means of energy self-sufficiency, Niagara offers an outstanding type of geology. A lot of southeastern Minnesota’s bedrock consists of limestone. In Niagara Cave, limestone is visible below the surface. Embedded in the limestone are 450-million-year-old fossils of aquatic life that resided in the shallow seas once occuping the region. One may spot horn corals, trilobite fossils, cephalopods, and even gastropods while on a tour through Niagara Cave.
Other unique aspects of this cave include its passageways, a 60-foot waterfall, and the fact that it is one of Minnesota’s two publicly accessible caves.
Niagara Cave can be found at 29842 County Road 30 outside of Harmony. If interested in further information, inquiries can be made to niagaracave@gmail.com or (507) 886-6606.