Artist and self-taught naturalist S. Fred Prince first settled near Marvel Cave in 1893. Prince was hired to survey the cave by owner William Lynch, taking him almost two years to complete. The two men set up a tent in the Cathedral Room cavern and would live there for a week or even a month at a time. Prince’s cave diagram would later be used in Luella Owens’ book on Ozarks caves in 1899.
Throughout the early 20th Century, Prince spent his days exploring Stone County’s hillside where he illustrated and catalogued native wildflowers, ferns and caves. He created a number of manuscripts, including The Ozarkian Uplift and the Marvel Caverns, which was published in September of 1936.
The S. Fred Prince Collection at the State Historical Society of Missouri contains copies of Prince’s manuscripts including The Ozarkian Uplift and the Marvel Caverns, as well as his work on wildflowers from 1899.
To explore this collection and more, visit the Springfield Research Center inside Missouri State University’s Meyer Library or find us online at SHSMO.org.