The Sable Guides of Mammoth Cave

No one is quite sure just how large the cave at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky really is. It is the longest known cave in the world, with nearly 370 miles of passages measured to date, but the end still isn't in sight. Tourists and scientists have been heading to Mammoth Cave, located about 85 miles south of Louisville, since 1816 - a century before the National Park Service was established. And while park rangers now lead tours of the cave, early visitors to the cave were led through its dark and sometimes treacherous passages by African slaves known as Sable Guides. Park Ranger Jerry Bransford, the great-greatgrandson of Mat Bransford, one of the original Sable Guides, continues that legacy at Mammoth Cave today.

In 1938, when only about 20 miles of the cave had yet been explored, the cave was bought by Frank Gorin. Mr. Gorin leased three slaves from their owner to work in the cave. Those enslaved men were Stephen Bishop and Mat and Nick Bransford. (Some historical accounts indicate that Mat and Nick were brothers, while others say that there is no known blood relation between them.) Mat Bransford was the son of a wealthy white landowner named Thomas Bransford and a young slave girl named Hannah.

Mr. Gorin sold the cave property the following year to Dr. John Croghan, who put up a hotel and developed other amenities in order to attract tourists. Bishop and the Bransfords, who were likewise sold to Dr. Croghan, remained and led tours for the wealthy, educated white visitors. Because a misstep in the dark cave could be the difference between life and death, the visitors were told to strictly obey the instructions of their black guides. So while they were slaves above ground, in the cave they were the masters.

In addition to leading tours of the massive cave, Stephen Bishop and the Bransfords explored many previously unknown parts of the cave. And although they had no formal schooling, they acquired a considerable amount of knowledge, especially in the fields of geology and mineralogy, from the scholars and scientists who frequented the cave.

Stephen Bishop gained his freedom in 1856 but died a year later. Nick Bransford continued to work at Mammoth Cave until he died in 1895. Mat Bransford's descendants carried on his legacy of guiding at Mammoth Cave. His grandson Will was a guide at the cave for more than 40 years. Another of his grandsons, Matt Bransford, opened a hotel for black visitors who were banned from the Mammoth Cave hotel and its dining room.

In 1929, Dr. Croghan's heirs sold the cave property to the Kentucky National Park Commission which hoped to convince Congress to make it a National Park. In 1931, when Mammoth Cave did become part of the National Park Service, there were 11 black men, including 8 Bransfords, among the 20 guides at Mammoth Cave. Sadly, after nearly 100 years of continuous service, the black guides, who were now free, lost their jobs at the cave. Then, to add insult to injury, the Bransford family lost their cave-adjacent home through eminent domain in 1937.

Fast forward to 2003. After retiring from Dow Corning, Jerry Bransford, the great-great-grandson of Sable Guide Mat Bransford, was retracing his family history at the same time that Park Ranger Joy Medley Lyons was researching stories of the cave's black guides. She invited Jerry Bransford to return to Mammoth Cave. He did, and, after an intermission of some 70-plus years, a Bransford was once again leading tours in Mammoth Cave. Jerry Brandsford continues to lead cave tours every summer. But it's more than just a job to him. Bringing visitors into the cave and sharing his family legacy is a very personal experience, for guide and visitor alike.

Author's note: I would like to thank my friends Audrey and Frank Peterman, whose book, Legacy on the Land, provided much of the historical information for this article. Additional information was obtained from the park's Black History at Mammoth's Cave website. See also, Making Their Mark: the Signature of Slavery at Mammoth Cave by Joy Medley Lyons. The Sierra Club is sponsoring a service trip to Mammoth Cave N.P. April 18-24, 2010. See p. 85 of the current Sierra magazine for details.