Oregon Caves Cavemen

Dad Reingate as a grocery store owner and as a Caveman.

The Oregon Caves Cavemen: A Unique Promotion for Tourism

The Oregon Caves Cavemen began in 1922 as a creative initiative by a group of businessmen from Grants Pass, Oregon, who wanted to boost tourism in Josephine County. They did this by dressing up as cavemen, claiming to be descendants of Neanderthals (although Neanderthals had gone extinct in Europe thousands of years ago and had no descendants). The Cavemen wore wigs, animal skins, and carried clubs as part of their personas. With their eccentric attire and antics, they succeeded in attracting thousands of additional visitors to Oregon Caves and the surrounding area.

One of the original seven cavemen was Dad Reingate, a local grocery store owner. When dressed as a caveman, he took on the persona of the "Flame Watcher," contributing to the group’s overall efforts to promote Oregon Caves.

 

A wedding in Joaquin Miller's Chapel.

The Caveman Wedding of 1936

In 1936, the Cavemen staged a memorable event—an elaborate caveman-themed wedding in Joaquin Miller's Chapel. This event was orchestrated by the president of the Redwood Empire as part of a broader promotion to encourage tourism along the Redwood Highway, which stretched from San Francisco, California, to Grants Pass, Oregon.

The wedding was a tremendous success, drawing the attention of newsreel cameras, writers, and photographers from various media outlets. The event’s nationwide coverage provided substantial publicity, far exceeding the kind of promotion many cities paid thousands of dollars to achieve. It was a brilliant example of the Cavemen’s knack for creating headline-grabbing stunts that captured the public's imagination.

Their efforts provided free nationwide exposure for Oregon Caves and Josephine County, making the Cavemen an enduring part of local history.