General rules: Anyone may log the caches in this series, but kids (12 years old and under) can earn special awards. Kids logging any 4 of the 6 caches in either the Long Ago But Not Far Away – Fairview series or the Long Ago But Not Far Away - Spring Mountain series and emailing the answers to the Kids' Answer Sheet will receive a certificate and a special prize for each series.
Kids earning both the Fairview and the Spring Mountain certificates will receive a special geocoin. Cachers over 12 years old will not receive a prize, certificate, or geocoin. Multiple children in a family may each receive their own awards, but each child requesting an award must have been present during all the cache hunts. Make sure you print out the Kids' Answer Sheet for Fairview before beginning this project!
To claim your award(s), click “Spring Mountain Community Club” just below the cache title and send an email including:
(1) the names of the caches you found along with the answers to their questions,
(2) your name and caching name, and
(3) your age.
(Information will be used to verify your qualification and print your certificate and will then be deleted. Parents, please contact us if you prefer not to share this information.)
Other caches in this series:
Adam Cooper
Cane Creek Church
Sherrill's Inn
The Lord's Acre
Where Is Fairview?
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Soapstone
During the early 1800s mountain people made do with what they had locally. There was little money for buying expensive items brought in by horse-drawn wagon from stores in Rutherfordton, NC (the nearest market city) or Charleston, SC, and Augusta, GA (the nearest ports). This applied not only to household goods and food, but also to headstones to mark graves.
When someone in Fairview or a nearby community died, they were generally buried in the Cane Creek Cemetery. Field stones were sometimes gathered for headstones, but they were too hard to engrave with names or dates. A deposit of soapstone (a very soft stone that could be easily engraved) was found in this area of Fairview. When a headstone was needed, men would use a two-man hand saw to slice off a slab of soapstone. The name and dates were then hand carved into the headstone with relative ease. Examples of these homemade headstones can still be seen in the oldest section of the Fairview Cemetery located at about N 35º 31.255 W 082º 24.100.
The soapstone quarry was located about 1/4 mile from here. Unfortunately most of the soapstone is now buried under fill dirt and is no longer accessible. This local soapstone is a slick-feeling, light greenish-gray rock, although pure soapstone (as is generally seen in mineral collections) is almost white.
Fingernail scratch on soapstone.
Since the original deposit is no longer accessible, we have gathered a few small loose pieces of soapstone and placed them in the geocache container. You may touch the soapstone to feel its slick “soapy” surface, and you may make a small scratch with your fingernail in one of these pieces if you want to experience how soft the soapstone is. Please DO NOT REMOVE THE SOAPSTONE FROM THE GEOCACHE! Leave it for others visiting after you to explore.
If you are working toward the kids' Fairview prizes, be sure to write down what the geocache is disguised as.