Floyd Collins - Burial

Burial

With Collins's remains left in the cave, funeral services were held at the surface. Homer Collins was not pleased with Sand Cave as his brother's grave. Two months later, Homer Collins and some friends reopened the shaft. They dug a new tunnel to the opposite side of the cave passage, and recovered Floyd Collins's remains on April 23, 1925. The following day, the body was buried on the Collins family's farm near Crystal Cave (now known as Floyd Collins Crystal Cave). In 1927, Floyd Collins's father, Lee Collins, sold the homestead and cave. The new owner placed Collins's body in a glass-topped coffin and exhibited it in Crystal Cave for many years. On the night of March 18–19, 1929, the body was stolen. It was recovered, but the injured left leg was missing. After this, it was kept in a secluded portion of Crystal in a chained casket. In 1961, Crystal Cave was purchased by Mammoth Cave National Park and closed to the public. The family had objected to Collins's body being displayed in the cave, and at their request, the National Park Service re-interred him in Flint Ridge Cemetery on March 24, 1989. It took a team of 15 men three days to remove the casket and tombstone from the cave. There was some objection from cavers in Europe, where notable explorers are often buried in caves they discovered.