The cave is a natural opening that sits a few hundred feet from the York River.It's thought that it may have been enlarged at some point in time to it's current size of approximately 12 x 18 feet but it's not known by who or when.The known history of the cave is that many residents sought safe shelter there during the seige of Yorktown in 1781.There are several other stories about the cave which cannot be confirmed but should atleast be mentioned.
The most likely of these stories is that General Cornwallis and his aids sought refuge here during the seige as well thus, the cave became known as Cornwallis's cave.It has also been said the cave was used by smugglers to hide the loot,that is was used by a Satanic cult as a place to perform rituals and that it may have been where several Spanish Monks, who came to Yorktown even before the English colony at Jamestown was established, were masacred by Native Americans.
The cave is now barred off to prevent entry.The official Park Service explanation for this is that the cave is slowly falling in and is not safe for visitors.You can however still see most of the inside of the cave from the gate.

Residents and visitors to Yorktown have reported hearing unexplained noises coming from inside the cave for atleast the last several decades.Voices of people talking,whispering and screaming have been heard. If you have had an experience at Cornwallis Cave or know any stories pleasee-mail us.