Editing Sullivan County, Tennessee (section)

===Morrell Cave===
Morrell Cave (also known as Worleys Cave) is a Tennessee State Natural Area. The cave has a surveyed length of {{convert|4.4|mi|km}}, making it the second-longest cave in East Tennessee and the 177th longest cave in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gulden |first=Bob |author-link=Robert Gulden |title=Long Caves List |url=https://www.caverbob.com/wlong.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515145704/http://www.caverbob.com/wlong.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=May 15, 2006 |access-date=February 14, 2023 |website=www.caverbob.com}}</ref><ref>Larry E. Matthews, ''Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains'' (National Speleological Society, June 2008), pp. 253-276. {{ISBN|978-1-879961-30-2}}</ref>  Morrell Cave is located on the south side of the [[Holston River]], {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} east of Bluff City.

During the Civil War, the cave was a major source of [[saltpeter]], the main ingredient of gunpowder. Significant evidence of this mining activity remains in the cave, including evidence of large amounts of saltpeter-bearing dirt having been removed, pick marks in the dirt, and an elaborate system of trails used by the miners. Cave historian Marion O. Smith has determined that two companies of the Confederate [[Nitre and Mining Bureau]], District No. 7, were active in Sullivan County.<ref>Laurie Adams, "History of Morrell Cave, Part I" (''Flittermouse Grotto'' of the National Speleological Society, August 1984).</ref>