Ashleigh's Travels: From Corvettes to Jesse James, Thanks to Bailey
If you're not familiar with who I am, my name is Ashleigh Bomgaars. I'm the Social Media Manager at the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum & Gardens. I have a Farmer Level Membership at the museum, which allows me to discover just how far the museum's reach can extend beyond South Haven. Recently, I had the opportunity to put my favorite membership benefits to the test during a trip to Kentucky - and I was reminded just how much adventure can come with carrying a museum membership card!
During my trip, I visited two incredible destinations: the National Corvette Museum and Lost River Cave. While they couldn't be more different, both offered fascinating opportunities to learn, explore, and experience something completely new.
First Stop: The National Corvette Museum
As someone from Southwest Michigan, visiting the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green was definitely a change of scenery! The museum is filled with incredible Corvettes and stories about the history, design, and people behind one of America's most recognizable cars.
What made the visit especially fun was knowing that m Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum membership got me in the door for free so I can experience this. The National Corvette Museum participates in the North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM), which connects participating museums and cultural institutions across North America.
The story of the National Corvette Museum began long before its doors opened. In the 1980s, Corvette enthusiasts and members of the National Corvette Restorers Society recognized that the history of America's sports car needed to be preserved for future generations. What began as an idea among passionate enthusiasts eventually grew into a permanent museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. A temporary Museum Annex opened in 1990, and on September 2nd, 1994 the National Corvette Museum officially opened its doors.
Today, the museum preserves the evolution of the Corvette through historic cars, artifacts, exhibits, and stories. Its location in Bowling Green is particularly significant - the General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant is just a mile away, and every Corvette has been manufactured there since 1981.
One of the most fascinating (and afflicting for Corvette lovers such as myself) chapters in the museum's history happened in 2014, when a massive sinkhole suddenly opened beneath the Skydome, swallowing eight Corvettes. Rather than simply hiding this unusual event, the museum incorporated it into its story, preserving the history of the sinkhole and recovery as part of the visitor experience.
For me, this was one of the things that made visiting the Corvette Museum so interesting. It wasn't simply a place filled with beautiful cars - it was a place dedicated to preserving the stories, people, innovation, and even unexpected events that shaped them.
Then... Rocks, Caves, and Trails!
After spending time surrounded by beautiful cars, I traded horsepower for something much older: a cave.
My next stop was Lost River Cave, also located in Bowling Green. We explored the cave system and experienced the underground river, which was a completely different experience from the Corvette Museum.
If the Corvette Museum tells the story of American innovation, Lost River Cave tells the story of American excavation - a story written into the landscape itself.
People have been using Lost River Cave for thousands of years. Evidence and historical accounts indicate that Native Americans used the cave as a source of shelter, water, and food as early as approximately 7,500 B.C. Centuries later, the area became an important site for early Kentucky industries, including a grist mill, sawmill, wool carding operation, and distillery beginning in the late 1700s.
The cave also played a role during the Civil War, serving as a campsite for both Confederate and Union troops. And, in one of the more surprising chapters of its history, the cave was reportedly used as a hideout by the Jesse James gang following a back robbery in 1869.
But perhaps the strangest chapter came in the twentieth century. Beginning in the 1930s, the cave became home to a nightclub and dance hall. Its naturally cool environment made it an appealing destination during Kentucky's hot summers, and the underground venue operated for decades before eventually closing.
After years of decline, a new chapter began in the 1980s. The cave entrance and surrounding valley were donated to Western Kentucky University in 1986, helping launch efforts to preserve and restore the site. In 1990, Friends of the Lost River was incorporated as a nonprofit dedicated to conservation, and additional land was eventually acquired to create today's 72-acre park.
Visiting both places reminded me why preserving history matters. Whether we're talking about a Corvette, a cave, a garden, or the life and work of Liberty Hyde Bailey, every place has a story. Museums give us a chance to step into those stories, learn from them, and carry them forward.
That's one of the reasons I'm so proud to be part of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum. Our museum may be located in a historic home in South Haven, but the idea behind what we do reaches much farther: preserve the past, learn from it, and inspire curiosity about the world around us.
And thanks to reciprocal museum benefits, sometimes that curiosity can take you all the way from South Haven to Kentucky!
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