by David Flint
About twenty-five people gathered in the rain Sunday, June 6, for the official opening of Bentleys Cavern Preserve in Berlin. The land was donated to the Conservancy last year by Robert Bentley and the late Eleanor Bentley through their daughter Randi Bentley. The opening was attended by Robert and Randi Bentley, a number of officers and members of the Conservancy and a few local people including Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger.
Conservancy President Robert Addis welcomed everyone and thanked the Bentleys for their donation. Following remarks by Preserve Manager Jonah Spivak on the history of Bentley’s Cave, Bob and Randi were given the honor of cutting the tape marking the entrance to a hiking trail leading up to the caves. Spelunkers and others were then treated to refreshments and a delicious cake decorated in icing with a fairly detailed map of the Bentley Cave. The cake was baked and decorated by NCC Office Manager Emily Davis.
The Preserve consists of about 5½ acres and actually contains two caves located on top of a hill off of Route 22 just south of the village of Berlin, Bentley’s Cave and a smaller cave nearby, Dry Valley Cave, that was discovered in 1991. Bentley’s Cave has approximately 1,000 feet of passage. It is the largest cave in Rensselaer County and, according to Robert Addis, it is a marble cave, unlike the five other caves the Conservancy owns in Albany and Schoharie Counties which are limestone caves. The entrance, in the edge of a small cliff, opens into a large passageway with a tall ceiling. The passageway emerges into a low crawl space where a stream enters the cave. A short crawl through this stream brings one into the “Big Room” from which several passages branch off.
The Conservancy has constructed a small parking lot and entrance drive on Route 22 leading up to a clearing where a kiosk has been placed. A trail with signposts leads up to the caves. The kiosk has posted on it information about the caves along with maps, recommendations for caving gear and guidelines for visitors using the area. Although special permission is not required for normal caving, standard caving gear is required including helmet with a chinstrap, three sources of light, one of which is mounted to the helmet, and at least three people in the party. Institutional groups should contact the Conservancy and sign a general waiver.
According to the history on file at the Conservancy’s website (www.necaveconservancy.org), Colonel Caleb Bentley, a Captain in the Revolution, settled on this property in 1769. Legend has it that he learned of the cave after a burglary at a textile mill in Berlin. Bentley and an Undersheriff discovered the cave and found that the burglars had evidently been using it as a hideout. Other legends have the cave being used as a gamblers’ den and a hideout for escaped Hessian prisoners during the Revolutionary War and later for runaway slaves during the time of the Underground Railroad. A newspaper in Lebanon Springs shortly after WW II suggests the possibility of using the cave as a shelter in case of atomic war. The cave was first explored by the National Speleological Society in 1935.
