John Latcham purchases the 470-acre farm on a Contract for Deed from Ammon Grems. This 27-year old farmer discovers what he surmises is a newly opened sinkhole while searching for a lost calf while on horseback. (Based on a May 1966 photo of this sinkhole, which shows moss and lichen on the entry rock, a high possibility exists that the cave had been accessible to human visitation for many years. In fact, the Grem’s family later stated that they had always been aware of the caves existence but simply acknowledged it as another creation of the natural wilderness.)

Cave specialist Ron Spong is summoned, and together with a team he assembles, proceeds to explore and map the cave.

This cave system is documented to be one of the most spectacular in the Upper Midwest, and John subsequently decides to commercialize it. Together with his new partner, Roger Winters, the two begin the arduous process. Large slabs and rocks are broken up, the passage floors are leveled and spread with gravel, electricity is brought to the site and wooden stairways are constructed.

A WWII Quonset building is placed over the cave entrance, brochures are printed, tour guides are hired and tourists begin arriving.

Subcontractors place liens on the building and improvements and the fee owner forecloses on the Contract for Deed, forcing the young farmer and his partner to go bankrupt. Grems repossess the farm and that December sells it to Joseph Miliner on a Contract for Deed. Joe continues the commercial operation but soon shuts it down and boards up the building.

Miliner assigns the Contract to Deed to Ilert Eilders.  No caving is permitted.

Miliner pays off the Contract for Deed from Grems.

Eilders assigns his Contract for Deed to James Manggaard.  The Minnesota Speleogical Survey (MSS) visits Jim and is allowed access to the property.

The MSS officially surveys Spring Valley Caverns.  Dave Gerboth, an MSS member, takes special interest in this cave.

John Ackerman, a cave explorer from the Twin Cities, gets acquainted by Dave Gerboth.  John and Dave discover numerous caves on this farm in some of the 35-40 sinkholes.

1988 Twice vandals break through the flimsy gate and damage formations in Spring Valley Caverns. The MSS removes rotting wood and dilapidated wiring that was installed in the cave during the commercialization attempt. John Ackerman was busy with other projects on the Manggaard farm but finally tours Spring Valley Caverns for the first time.

Manggaard decides to sell the farm, and after lengthy negotiations, John Ackerman purchases roughly one half of the farm and acquires underground cave rights to the other half.   Manggaard then sells both homes on the property along with 10 acres each and pays off the Contract for Deed with Miliner.

Using explosives, John and Dave widen a long narrow crevice at a "dead end" within Spring Valley Caverns.  After many months of grueling effort, they make a breakthrough to find a spectacular system of interconnecting passages.

John needed an adjoining 10 acres to create an entrance into the newly discovered remote area in Spring Valley Caverns called SVC IV, but Mr. Manggaard would only sell a minimum of 70 acres.  John purchases 70 acres and sells 60 acres to a young farmer named Matt Snyder on a Contract for Deed.

John purchases an additional acre from his new neighbor to create a back door into the newly discovered river section of Spring Valley Caverns calls SVC III.  This farmer, Rick Christianson, had recently bought the other half of the Manggaard farm.  An easement was provided from this new parcel back to the Cave Farm.

More caves on the property are discovered and Spring Valley Caverns now stretches almost 5 1/2 miles in length.  John and Dave decide that in addition to exploration, preservation is a key priority.  John takes legal steps to assure the property and all caves will be permanently protected after his death.  It is decided to designate the property as a Karst Preserve.

The Quonset building is demolished and excavation begins in preparation for the new building over the main entrance to the caverns.

The unique building was finally completed in late fall and allows large groups of nature enthusiasts a place to gather before and after entering the caverns.

John purchases a 10 acre parcel from his neighbor which contains an important and rare karst feature called a Blind Valley.  This property is annexed to the Karst Preserve with an easement.  It is thought that Spring Valley Caverns extends beyond this parcel and could be accessed through one of several sink holes located within this property.

John repurchases the 60 acres he originally sold Snyder in 1991 for four times the selling price.  This property, which lies above Spring Valley Caverns, is mostly tillable but contains a 14 acre hardwood forest that gently sweeps down to Bear Creek with its spectacular limestone bluffs.  The picturesque entrance to "Bear Den Cave" is located high on one of these bluff faces.

This same year John purchases another adjoining farm which increases the Karst Preserve to 325 acres  (over a full 1/2 section of land).

After 3 years of negotiations John purchases an additional 160 acres of land adjacent to the Cave Farm, formerly known as the King Farm. This scenic property encompasses hardwood forests, open meadows and towering limestone bluffs. Deer Creek is a prominent feature with its adjacent towering limestone bluffs. The Minnesota Karst Preserve's land holdings have now expanded to approximately 500 acres.

The Cave Farm presently consists of 500 surface acres combined with 192 additional underground rights involving a total of 32 caves.

The cave system, located just south of the Minnesota border, in northern Iowa, was discovered in 1967 by several cavers who dove under the frigid water that flows out of a magnificent cliff face in the Coldwater Spring State Preserve. Shortly thereafter, the State of Iowa took exclusive control of the cave and created an artificial entrance into the cave on private land which they leased.

In 1975, after failing in their attempt to secure funding for commercialization, the artificial 94 foot deep shaft reverted back to the landowners.  Since an underwater gate was installed at the natural spring discovery passage in 1970, the only access to the cave since then has been through the 94 foot shaft.

Due to access restrictions, John Ackerman began a quest during the mid 1990's to create a second artificial entrance to this National Natural Landmark cavern system.  In 2002 his unwavering efforts started to become a reality when he was successful in convincing a landowner above the cave to sell 5 surface acres, along with 200 underground rights to the system.  A law firm was immediately retained and helped pave the way for John to proceed with his plans.

The Midwest's oldest and largest well drilling firm, Thein Well Co., was contracted to drill a 30 inch diameter, 188 foot deep shaft into the cave.  This project was initiated during 2 bitterly cold winter months in the winter of 2003 and was successful even though there were numerous mechanical breakdowns due to the incredibly tough limestone.

Shortly before the drilling project was started, a long forgotten pioneer cemetery was discovered within feet of the new shaft site.  In addition, numerous glitches were discovered during the abstract search.   But eventually, in December 2003, the law firm completed the arduous task of ironing out all the problems.

The shaft lid and ladders were complete and the project was formally proclaimed a huge success.

John Ackerman and Clay Kraus discover new passages deep into the cave system. Ackerman noses his way through low air space until the passage height increases, and then goes on to discover several tall domes, one with a fantastic waterfall dropping from the top. READ THE STORY

Dave Gerboth, Clay Kraus and John Ackerman systematically scour the cave for unknown passages and select potential sites. After removing sediment from three sites, they squirm through the constrictions to find fantastic major cave segments.

John Ackerman and Clay Kraus venture deep into the unsurveyed lower level portion of Goliath's Cave and use a special cave radio to determine their position as it corresponds to the surface approximately 150 feet above them. After precise calculations are compiled it is discovered that the Sikkink home lies directly above the largest body of water in the cave. This revelation was astonishing since the 135 year old Sikkink home lies well over one mile away from the cave entrance and is nestled in a secluded wooded cove.

Ackerman also discovers a 20’ tall dome room just off the main stream passage. He identifies a gap near the ceiling and feels it could be enterable with the right gear.

A sudden snow melt inundated the DNR/SNA natural entrance with a torrential river of water and temporarily blocked the entrance with tons of rocks.

Several surface acres surrounding David’s Entrance are planted with natural prairie grasses and forbes.

John Preston and John Ackerman don SCUBA gear and penetrate a water filled sump, which leads them into a fantastic new dry segment of Goliath’s Cave. One month earlier John Preston had groped his way through these same unexplored frigid water filled passages, which led him into this new section. He scouted a short distance ahead before returning with the incredible news. Four weeks later, outfitted with survey and life support gear, John Preston and John Ackerman make the dangerous trip through these jet-black subterranean passages and explore the new section. They return after surveying one-third mile of large pristine cave passages, which are highly decorated with a variety of formations. This amazing discovery is rated as one of the all time greatest finds that involved underwater exploration in this state.

Armed with a grappling hook, John and Clay returned to the dome that John discovered in the downstream section in 2005. John manages to lodge the grappling hook into the void and climbs up. John and Clay are astonished to discover a 42’ tall room with a 6’ tall passage leading off into the distance. After 52’ the passage is blocked by large rocks. They do not have a rock hammer.

2008
(Feb)

John, Clay, Charles Graling and Dave Gerboth return to Grappling Dome with a rock hammer. John and Clay climb up to the room, travel along the passage to the rock blockage and after three hours successfully break the large offending rock. They move forward, past the previous rock choke and are stunned at what they walk into. A large dry upper level thoroughfare passage was discovered. John and Clay explored and surveyed this borehole passage for ¼ mile before retreating. Read Story

Exploration of the cave system, including scientific studies begin.

Harper Tyson’s grave is located in a local Pioneer Cemetery and work begins in an attempt to trace the family tree. Copies of the original land deed are obtained from the National Archives.

A gate was installed at the natural entrance and an informational sign was posted.

Bat River Cave has no doubt been known since mankind first set foot in the area. A rippling cold clear stream exits the cave from the base of a limestone cliff and a natural limestone arch has no doubt been announcing the caves presence for thousands of years.

Divers and cave explorers Larry Laine and Steve Porter investigate the cave, conduct a survey, and also produce a map.

Larry Laine, Rich Ness and Vince Schuster entered the cave with diving gear in an attempt to dive through the water filled sump at the end of the cave. While they were making their way towards the sump the weather warmed up, melting the snow outside. They were somewhat concerned when they noted water flowing into the cave from three separate passages. They dropped their gear, went to the end of the cave and inspected the sump. They reported that it “had just enough room for a body” but went on to other projects and never returned.

Tim Stenerson visits the cave and suggests that the sump be probed. Cave diver John Preston, John Ackerman and Tim Stenerson haul diving gear to the sump. Preston manages to penetrate the sump and surfaces on the other side. He reports a huge room with a stupendous waterfall crashing down along one wall. He discovers a large upper level above the falls and follows it for a distance before retreating.

John Ackerman, John Preston and Phil Gemenden all dove through the sump hauling safety and survey gear. Ackerman hiked along the passages, holding the lead end of the tape while Phil read the compass readings. Preston followed up the rear, recording and adding information necessary to produce a map. Over one mile of cave was explored and surveyed. Thousands of bats were discovered hibernating along the walls. This was documented as one of the most incredible cave trips in the Upper Midwest.

John Ackerman and cave diver Tami Thomsen dove through the sump, hauling 2 large dry boxes and one heavy equipment duffle. They made their way deep into the cave and chose two possible sites for a future man made entrance. They assembled specialized cave radio gear and transmitted signals to the surface, where they were received by Clay Kraus and Charles Graling.

John Ackerman purchased one surface acre and 231 acres of subterranean rights to Bat River Cave from the surface owner.

A safe 65’ deep man-made entrance shaft was created to the cave.

Mapping and exploration of the newly discovered section resumed, resulting in new finds. The surveyed length is now over 2.5 miles. Many passages stemming off the main trunkline have not been explored or mapped at this time.

A bat count has been conducted and the results have authenticated the fact that Bat River Cave contains the highest concentration of roosting bats (over 4,100) in any natural cave in the Tri-State area.