In 1804, Meyer’s Cave, also formerly known as Amen’s Caverns and Madison Caverns, was discovered, within the Blue Ridge Mountains, by Bernard Weyer in Grottes, Virginia. The cave was renamed multiple times, and in the 1950s it was given its final name of Grand Caverns.
During the United States Civil War both Confederate and Union troops visited the cave. Many wrote their name, their regiment and other identifying details.
In 1889, eight years after Luray Caverns had 13 electric arch lights installed, Grand Caverns had its first electric lighting installed. Grand Caverns became the 11th cave in the world to have electric lighting in place. The non-polluting electric lighting was essential in replacing candles, which emitted soot that would damage cave formations, 85 years after the discovery of the Grand Caverns.
Hamilton Historical Records 