The Old Guide's Cemetery is small cemetery located near the Mammoth Cave National Park visitor's center off Heritage Trail. Stephen Bishop, a mixed race slave who really explored and mapped out the Mammoth Caves, is buried here. He is the most famous of the guides. He was the first man to cross Bottomless Pit, the first man to discover an underground river and the first man to discover eyeless fish. He mapped out and named many of the rooms in the cave system. The Bishop Map was used as a guide map for over four decades. He was also given credit for his work which was unusual for a slave.
In 1839, the Mammoth Cave property was bought by Dr. John Croghan, which also included Stephen Bishop and other enslaved people. Dr. Croghan used the caves as a tourist attraction and as a place to "treat" tuberculosis patients. Unfortunately, the therapy actually harmed the patients and eventually even Dr. Croghan and Stephen Bishop contracted and succombed to tuberculosis. His work, though, contributed to understanding the epidemiology and ultimately limit spread of the disease. The cemetery is the burial site of three tuberculosis patients who died during the cave treatment experiments. read more