The Nesmith Cave Hoax

Transcript

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Buried in the sandstone near Minneapolis’s Pillsbury Mill lies the memory of one of America’s most absurd hoaxes: Nesmith Cave. The tunnel, complete with a spiral staircase of 123 steps, iron and copper tools, a sarcophagus, and an altar, was all fake. But it still fooled the nation.
In the 1860s, a man named Reuben Nesmith claimed to have uncovered a hidden world while digging a root cellar near Saint Anthony Main. He described a trapdoor leading to a labyrinth under the city, where explorers found goblin knickknacks, a skeleton head, and even the remains of a giant serpent. The story spread like wildfire when newspapers across the country, including some in New York, published columns about this so-called “lost civilization.” Hoaxers in on the fib even lit roman candles deep within the cave, adding to the lore being created. The mastermind behind the whole ordeal? David Edwards, who went by the title “Colonel” even though his military credentials were as fictional as the cave itself. He created the alias Reuben Nesmith to be the explorer in his stories. The rumors of Nesmith Cave were eventually debunked, but its legend lives on. The hoax is a humbling example of the dangers of how easily a lie, once printed, could can spread across the nation leaving behind only a trail of tall tales.

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