FCHT12 StonewallED Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

FCVCB: This cache is old.

More
Hidden : 3/18/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works
Looking for a different adventure?

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:



Welcome to the Fairfield County History Geo Trail - Our trail will take you all over Fairfield County to many of our small historic towns that make up this great county. We hope you have fun and experience all our county has to offer.

Hotel Coordinates - N 39 44.037 W 082 37.438

Did you know that the President of the United States held in trust a small cemetery in Fairfield County? At least, several of our presidents did. Located just west of Lancaster, south of US 22 lies a most unusual walled cemetery. It is a dodecagon (12-sided figure), constructed of hand-dressed native sandstone. The stones are placed without mortar and the corners are shaped from mitered stone. The Stonewall Cemetery, on the road of the same name, is the burying place of the Wilson family, early pioneers of Fairfield County. Nathaniel Wilson II, a Scotsman, brought his family to this area, probably over the nearby Zane's Trace. He settled in Hocking Township in 1798.
The background of this pioneer shows that his father, the first Nathaniel Wilson, was born in 1660. He and a Richard Cameron were taken prisoner by Charles I of England at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1679. Cameron's hands were cut off, but Nathaniel, then 19, managed to escape with Cameron's now useless sword. He made his way home and eventually reached Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He reared his family there and died in 1753, at age 93, leaving the Cameron sword and old Scotch Bible to his eldest son, Nathaniel II.
This Nathaniel Wilson II immigrated to the Ohio wilderness and built a humble log cabin in a clearing, and hung the old Cameron sword over its doorway in the living room. Beneath the sword were inscribed the words: "The sword of the Lord and Gideon." Mr. Wilson embraced the ideas and peculiarities of the Old Scoth Covenanters, among which was a great reverance and respect for the dead.
Others on this frontier did not seem to share his same ideals; therefore, he envisioned something special for his family.
Wilson II died on March 21, 1814, and was buried in the old city graveyard at High and Chestnut in Lancaster. His son, Nathaniel Wilson III, inherited his father's reverence for the dead. He finished the paperwork, and before deeding it to the president, had neighboring settlers Samuel and Emanuel Carpenter lay out a plan for enclosing it with a stone wall in 1816. There were nine marked graves in the little cemetery. The remains of Nathaniel Wilson II and his wife Elizabeth were moved to Stonewall Cemetery and placed in unmarked graves when the old city cemetery was moved in 1907.
Wilson III deeded the cemetery to President James Monroe on Oct. 24, 1817, to be held by "his successors in office forever, in fee simple forever in trust for the said Nathaniel Wilson and his heirs." The deed was legal and was witnessed by two Lancaster men. Thomas Ewing, who later served as Secretary of the Interior and Treasury, and William I. Thomas. No evidence has been found that President Monroe accepted the deed. Although started as early as 1812, it was not officially granted until 1940, under the signature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
On July 5, 1961, James M. Hengst, Nathaniel Wilson II's great-great grandson, purchased 1.046 acres surrounding and including the cemetery. In 1966, the cemetery was transferred to the Fairfield Heritage Association. In 1978 Heritage had it restored with a public preview on Oct. 8. However, vandals hit several times in the 1980s and destroyed many of the stones. It was cared for by the Hocking Township Trustees for a time and is now preserved as a Fairfield County Historical Park.
The wall wasn't started until 1838. The sandstone probably came from a quarry on nearby Allen's Knob in Shallenberger State Nature Preserve. The stones, about 18 inches thick, were shaped at the quarry to fit each into the other. At the corners, the stones were shaped with angles, thus avoiding mortar. Each of the 12 sides is 29.5 feet in length. The wall stands today without a crack and with no settling. It is considered to be the finest example of dry masonry in the state of Ohio.






Please respect all areas where these caches are placed and all caches were placed with permission so cache with confidence

List of Caches on the Trail
FCHT01 All Aboard
FCHT02 HAS
FCHT03 Deep Cut
FCHT04 Smeck Farm
FCHT05 A Memorial
FCHT06 Rock Mill
FCHT07 Cump
FCHT08 Lockville
FCHT09 O & E Canal
FCHT10 Oil Boom
FCHT11 Crossroads and Fence Corners
FCHT12 StonewallED
FCHT13 Writing on the Wall
FCHT14 The Junction
FCHT15 AMA HOF

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



Attributes

No attributes available

Advertising with Us

Inventory

There are no Trackables in this cache.

View past Trackables

What are Trackable Items?

Bookmark Lists

View all 18 bookmark lists...