Horse Cave, Kentucky — The comeback story of the small southern Kentucky town of Horse Cave began far below its streets in the Hidden River Cave, which for decades wasn't the place of wonder it is now, but a waste dump.
"Everybody was sick of the smell," former Horse Cave Mayor Sandra Wilson told CBS News.
Wilson remembers when the cave was part of the sewer system. And yet, surprising as it may seem, her desire to modernize the sewer system's infrastructure and clean up the Hidden River Cave was met with fierce resistance.
"We had a lot of people who were wary of rising sewer prices," Wilson said. "The goal was to create the sewer system to clean up the mess. Period."
While the people in town fought over sewers, David Foster of the American Cave Conservation Association had a solution that involved convincing the people of Horse Cave to enact new sewer fees to pay for the cleanup. That was not an easy sell, and caused arguments and threats inside city leadership.
"It happened over 40 years," Foster said of the process to complete the new system. "It wasn't an overnight success story."
Putting in a modern sewer system in 1989 allowed the town to open Hidden River Cave to visitors. Building the stairs, trails and a museum cost an additional $6 million, which came from grants and donations. The museum opened in 1993, and tourists could start exploring all the way into the cave's domes in 2020.
But the investment paid off. Last year, 30,000 tourists came to the town of about 3,000.
Today, 10 miles of passageways are open to visitors. The most unique stretch of Hidden River Cave is also the shakiest part, a 100-foot-long suspension bridge, the longest underground suspension bridge in the world.
"We draw people off the interstate — that is really close by — to come here. And everybody loves the tour," Wilson said.
Completion of the sewer system also allowed modern factories to open in the area. There are factories near Horse Cave that employ a combined 3,000 workers.
Foster says that without "patience and determination," the town's biggest stinker would never have become its biggest treasure.
Cave was used as sewer, then became tourist spot
Smelly cave used as town's sewer transforms into tourist destination
(02:36)
