WHO FOUND FAMOUS CAVE?
By Bob Kostoff A kind of humorous controversy erupted in 1834 about the first person to enter the famed and long-hidden Cave of the Winds. One Joseph Ingraham of Boston indicated in a Falls guidebook he wrote that the honor belonged to him. Another contemporary guidebook writer, Horatio A. Parsons, wrote that the credit should belong to him but conceded that he pooped out and two of his companions were actually the first to enter the cave. Late City Historian Donald Loker seemed to favor giving the credit to Ingraham, while Falls newspaper editor and historian Orrin E. Dunlap favored Parsons’ story. Dunlap, in fact, wrote a treatise on the subject to present a clearer picture of the occurrences. Parsons wrote a Falls guidebook in 1829, and Ingraham had his guidebook printed in 1834. In fact, Ingraham indicated his discovery was so new that he could only publicize it in an addendum pasted in the back of his guidebook, which had already been printed. The addendum, dated July 15, 1834, pr
