Wigwam Village #2

Cave City, Kentucky, United States

Buildings and structures

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Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Wigwam Village No. 2 is a motel of teepee-shaped guest units at 601 North Dixie Highway, Cave City, Kentucky, built in 1937 to Frank Redford's design. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and still takes overnight guests.

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PLAN YOUR VISIT

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Wigwam Village #2

This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Site-level location · 37.1451° N, 85.9453° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

You can still spend the night in a teepee-shaped room that first took guests in 1937: Wigwam Village No. 2 in Cave City, Kentucky.

Frank Redford, a Kentucky native who grew up in nearby Horse Cave, built it in 1937 and patented the design, according to local station WNKY. The owner says seven villages went up between 1935 and 1950 and only three are left, with this one the oldest survivor and the model for the rest. The National Park Service's register record names Redford as architect and 1937 as the significant year.

It was built for early motorists. The owner says Redford advertised private tiled bathrooms with hot and cold water and innerspring mattresses, which was luxury at the time. The motel stands on old Dixie Highway (US 31W) near Mammoth Cave. WNKY reports that its restaurant and gas station closed after Interstate 65 bypassed the road in the 1970s, but the 15-unit motel carried on. Kentucky Living in 2018 described the guest units in a semicircle around a shared yard with a playground and fire pits, and a 52-foot teepee holding the office and gift shop.

The current owners bought it in November 2020. WNKY said in 2026 that four units were being restored to their 1937 appearance under National Register guidelines.

Two details are worth knowing. The ring holds 15 guest units plus the large office teepee. A booklet in each room, Belmont Vision reported in 2025, includes a Q&A with the Kentucky Native American Commission clarifying that "wigwam" is a misnomer for the teepee shape; the owner said the stay is sold as an Americana experience, not a Native American one.

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PRACTICAL

Plan your stop

WHAT TO EXPECT

Operating motel; book through the official site (historicwigwamvillage.com) or 1-833-944-9267; the site lists check-in 3 pm and check-out 10 am. 15 guest units; four were being restored in 2026. Mammoth Cave National Park is nearby.

ACCESS

601 North Dixie Highway (US 31W), Cave City, KY 42127. The lodging is an overnight stay on private premises, not a drop-in museum.

COMMUNITY