Below are the most important images Jason Williams and Scott Carter took while inside the George Washington Masonic Cave in May of 2018.
Only a single prior image taken inside this cavern is known to exist (1966, Halliday), and that one is only a partial image, is grainy, in black and white, and with a very publication limited to a niche book for cave explorers.
Below, then, is the first extensive photographic documentation of the GW Masonic Cave inscription, as well as other images of interest.
NOTE: All images are copyright protected and all rights are reserved. You may NOT copy, transfer or otherwise use any of these images without express written consent.
Where’s the Cave? As one approaches, at first it’s hard to imagine a cave lies here. The ground is flat as the entrance is sunk below ground level.Now approaching the cave, which lies beneath a shelf of rock. According to the caver’s caretaker, there are Indian burials outside the mouth of the cave. Of note, the caretaker lives directly above the main cavity of the cave.First clear sign that there might be an opening here.
Mouth of the cave with an abandoned sofa and torn down barriers intended to prevent looters and vandals. Pictures of the outside of the cave have been documented from time to time for over 100 years. (Not so for what lies inside!)Assessing the entrance.Close up shot of the old stone wall covered with algae located right at the cave’s mouth.Entering the cave. We soon took off the surgical masks as the air seemed clean and they got in the way.Proceeding down the main corridor in the direction of the main hall.Inspecting the main cavity of the cave, where Masonic lodge meetings were once held.Main lodge room. Seating for the Masons to hold their meetings.Stones possibly uses as a footpath at some point.
This hallway leads the way to the GW signature room.One must wade through this pool to get to the back alcove where the GW carving is situated.
To find the GW signature you will need to wade through frigid water. Watch your head, it gets a bit tight down that passageway!Visiting the cave soon? This is your landmark. The GW signature is located on the opposite side of this outcropping.First half of the inscription. (Note: The curvature of the wall prevents a single picture from capturing an up close and clear photo.)Second half of the inscription.
Vertebral bone found inside the cave, sitting on a ledge with old Masonic inscriptions.
Nail used to hang a lantern directly across from the GW signature. This nail appears rather modern (? early 1900s).What appears to be a hand forged nail, possibly circa late 1700s.The back reaches of the cave are very wet, and indeed filled with pools of water. This matches the description GW wrote about in a 1761 letter to a friend back in England.A natural spring, or perhaps the water is related to the nearby stream and the weather patterns.
I am a Johns Hopkins-trained, board certified adult psychiatrist with additional sub-specialty training in Psychosomatic Medicine. I live and practice medicine in Northern Virginia.
