The town of Bat Cave, North Carolina is expertly named after the actual bat cave located in the town. Although the cave is not open to the public, it is a very interesting and fascinating place. This is due to the bats that have found a home in the cave and visitors will likely disturb their fragile ecosystem. The cave is home to various species of bats including the endangered and rare Indiana bat. It is known as the largest augen gneiss granite fissure cave and is over a mile long in distance. The entrance hallway is 300 feet long and 85 feet high. Interestingly enough, the bat cave holds many legends, the most famous dating all the way back to the American Revolution. The legend claims that some English prospectors were mining gold near Chimney Rock and planned to transport it by wagon to the port in Charleston, South Carolina, and then shipped it back to England. On their journey, they encountered a party of Cherokee Indians. When
trying to get away from the Cherokees, the prospectors stumbled into the bat cave and hid the gold in the cave. None of the prospectors made it back to retrieve the gold and no one has ever discovered it.
--Sarah Sandak