Talk:DeSoto Caverns

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 4 June 2019 and 31 July 2019. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): HistoryNerd52.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 19:06, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Dubious, unsourced history

The "Coosa Empire"? Where on earth did that come from?

The historical information in the longest section of this article is completely unreliable. Much of it comes from early 20th-century myths about Hernán de Soto's expedition that were circulated by local business boosters in an effort to drum up tourism. Soto's route is still a subject of debate, and the three Spanish chronicles of his expedition often contradict each other. I challenge anyone to find a qualified scholar who endorses the city of Sylacauga's claim that it has been around since the year 1540. — ℜob C. alias ᴀʟᴀʀoʙ 19:05, 14 January 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, city of Childersburg, not Sylacauga. -- ℜob C. alias ALAROB 18:26, 4 July 2019 (UTC)

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Bad citing and sourcing

This article draws from a single source that is barely accessible. The webpage was archived but the link takes you to the main page and not where the author sourced the information. This entire article might need to be redone with better sources which might restructure the way it was first written.HistoryNerd52 (talk) 18:49, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

• Alarob, I see you are still around. I looked at this article with HistoryNerd52, trying to find some sourcing, to no avail. Didn't find much more under the earlier name either. Worse, the Encyclopedia of Alabama article doesn't cite any sources. Do you have anything on your bookshelf? Do you know archaeology? Tide rolls, what about you? LadyofShalott, any geology sources? User:Langcliffe, you seem like a pretty experienced caver--where do we turn? Any help is appreciated. Dr Aaij (talk) 15:32, 14 June 2019 (UTC)
  • I added a ref to the article in Encyclopedia of Alabama. Here is a blog post, but it may have useful pointers, including the name Kymulga Cave [1]. The Ala. Dept. of Archives and History has some images online, and also mentions the Kymulga name [2]. I have not been having much success so far at the Geological Survey, but I haven't given up yet. LadyofShalott 22:16, 17 June 2019 (UTC)
  • Hi, Dr Aaij, thanks for bringing me in. I've had a first glance at some sources and haven't turned up anything specific. Charles Hudson has done some work on both the actual De Soto route (difficult to reconstruct) and the flawed process by which the route was determined in the early 20th century, with an eye toward tourism as much as toward historical accuracy. I'm reminded of this every time I drive to Childersburg, Alabama and pass the welcome sign that reads "Est. 1540." Uh-huh. -- ℜob C. alias ALAROB 18:37, 18 June 2019 (UTC)
    • User:Alarob, don't forget to ping me when you get to Montgomery. I owe you coffee or a beer, in gratitude for all your work here and all the times you helped me. Isn't it odd that something so big is so hard to source? User:LadyofShalott, the problem with the Encyclopedia of Alabama article is that it has no sources--I find that very sad, since I usually think they write quality stuff. From what I can tell the author is a freelancer, but there is no indication whatsoever that they based their text on any published sources. Very disappointing. Thank you both for your help! HistoryNerd52, do you see we actually have a community here? Dr Aaij (talk) 00:13, 19 June 2019 (UTC)