Skip to main content

Wigwam Village No. 2 - Cave City, KY

Image
By


While sitting on the front porch at the motor lodge's check-in, a young couple pulls in.  With a quick look at the car and the night's roster of guests, owner Keith Stone immediately knows who is checking in and welcomes them to Wigwam Village, No. 2.

The guests are headed to Mammoth Cave from Illinois and Montreal, Canada.  They made their reservations out of curiosity - to do something unique.  Stone welcomes them and introduces them to his two cats, Andy Rooney and Vetra.

After giving a general overview of the grounds and guidelines, Stone asks if the couple wishes to learn more about the Wigwam Village's history.  They do, and Stone discusses some of the history.  Frank Redford opened the first Wigwam Village in 1935.  That first village - with six teepee rooms - opened a few miles up the highway in Horse Cave.  He'd open the larger village in Cave City two years later.

The iconic teepee design of Frank Redford's Wigwam Villages.

Redford would patent the teepee design and eventually develop a small franchise chain of seven villages with locations in Kentucky, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona, and California.  Of the seven, three remain today. Cave City, Holbrook, Arizona, and San Bernadino, California.

Stone and co-owner Megan Smith purchased the motor lodge in the fall of 2020 and immediately began to restore the teepees and grounds to its 1937 splendor.  Slowly but surely, restorations of the teepees have included restoring the original furniture, adding modern amenities like wi-fi and flat-screen televisions, and, if they can find them, the original dime-operated radios.

The 'Sleep in a Wigwam' neon sign was restored in the spring of 2021 - and currently, 11 of the 15 rooms have been restored.  The final restoration project is the large teepee that sits along US 31W.  It was a former gas station and restaurant - and Stone and Smith plan to convert it to a coffee shop and guest convenience store.

The large grassy common area of Wigwam Village No. 2.

The 15 teepee rooms are arranged in a semi-circle overlooking a wide grassy area full of playground equipment, cornhole boards, fire pits, and more.  Outside each dwelling is a set of locally Amish-crafted chairs, a table, and a patio umbrella, inviting guests to sit, relax, read a book, or simply enjoy watching their children play.

Around 8:00 pm every evening, Stone starts a bonfire in the common area around the teepees. It is time for the guests - if they wish - to gather and enjoy the evening.

"There's a magic to the campfire," Stone says. "Things slow down, people talk."

It is not difficult to relax and unwind.

But the magic for Stone and Smith goes beyond just the campfire; it is their guests and the local community.  Guests from all over the country and world have spent a night or more at the Wigwam Village, No. 2, in the nearly four years they have operated the motor lodge.  Some guests are return visitors - whether from decades ago or more recently - retracing and remembering past road trips.  Many come with vintage photos or postcards of themselves or their ancestors sharing and telling those stories with Stone, Smith, and other guests.

"I never realized how much [the village] has meant to everyone," Stone notes.

Another group checking in asks for dining recommendations.  Stone happily notes a few local restaurants and then reminds the group of one other item - tomorrow's checkout.

 "Leave the key in the room - close the door and wave goodbye!"  

But the memories will always remain.


If you go:

Reservations can be made online at the Wigwam Village No. 2's website.  Rooms during the summer months can go quickly.  The village is closed from January into March.

How To Get There:

All photos taken by post author - June 23, 2024.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more