With a borrowed boat and two of his friends (John Eaton and Mitis Horine), Christopher entered the cavern and spent an entire day exploring the tunnels within the property.

In 1902, over 15 years after their discovery, Eaton gave up on the cavern and sold his holdings to the Indian Creek Land Company in the care of Eugene Hunt Benoist.

Another problem for Onondaga came from the commercial opening of the nearby Cathedral Cave (owned by Timmerman Nielson and managed by Al Keber).

Onondaga now had competition on two fronts from both Cathedral Cave and from the back portion of itself under the name Missouri Caverns.

The court battles continued over the land disputes, and Onondaga suffered due to its more distant position from US 66 on State Road H, as compared to the closer Missouri Caverns.

[6] A situation occurred that mirrored the land disputes in 1934 when senatorial candidate Harry S. Truman and members of his Democratic party had a planned visit to Missouri Caverns.

William Mook's other heirs (who ran the Barnard Hospital in St. Louis) owned shares in the estate, and he attempted to sue them after they had loaned money to Bradford for improvements on Onondaga Cave.

Missouri Caverns closed not long afterward because of these legal problems as well as decreased interest in tourism during the two World Wars.

Cathedral Cave also closed because of the decrease in tourism, and Onondaga's own future was uncertain after the death of Bradford.

[6] Artressia Davis, now 95, died after several unsuccessful attempts to sue the proprietors of both the Missouri Caverns and Onondaga Cave in 1943.

The electrification of the rural area of the state allowed the entire cave to be wired for lighting, and the old tour paths were replaced with new trails, stairs, and bridges.

Dill had been in the business of caverns from a young age and had operated both the Fisher and Mushroom caves at Meramec State Park.

Also, in 1954, Riley became an ordained minister and is reputed to have held church services and performed wedding ceremonies in the cave.

Recreationists from the city believed it would have severe impacts on environmental, economic, and engineering concerns, and the value of the Meramec as a free-flowing canoe navigable stream.

Construction industry officials, local politicians, and developers saw the prospect of great economic prosperity with a major lake only one hour from St. Louis.

[citation needed] Ronald Reagan signed the deauthorization bill on December 19, 1981, one and a half years after the death of Dill on August 13, 1980.

Under the management of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Division of State Parks, Onondaga Cave is now in its second century and secure from further land disputes and vandalism.