GILREATH MILL Cache*ARCHIVED 5-20-14* Traditional Geocache
The Scout Master: Alas, after 6 years and 3 months, this cache has been removed. I feel further searching might damage this wonderful piece of history, so I have decided to archive it. Thank you to all who visited over the years.
GILREATH MILL Cache*ARCHIVED 5-20-14*
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.....I thought this would be an appropriate cache for my 80th cache placed. This cache is located at a bit of history of South Carolina. It is located where N. Rutherford Road meets Hwy 101 in Greer in upper Greenville County.
Mr. P. Hungerford, the owner of the property, has given permission for this cache and for cachers to search for it. Please respect the property. If you are interested, he will let you tour inside the mill, which is undergoing (slowly) restoration. He lives right across the road.
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The bit of History:
.....Gilreath Mill was a rural grist mill that served the area for 138 years before being shut down. Is it listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Built in 1812 (in 2008 this is 196 years ago), it was originally constructed as a corn mill. Back then a farmer paid for the milling of his grain by a toll to the miller. The rate varied, but the miller generally received one bushel of corn for every 8 bushels processed.
.....There are still a lot of the basic elements present that a grist mill required: a Pond, a Dam, the Raceway(this one was both earthen and wooden(rotted away), the Water Wheel and somn of the gears and mechanisms that transform water power into mechanical energy. Of course, much of this is now in unusable condition.
.....The original Dam was located 750 feet up stream from the mill and was 12 feet high. It was made of wooden planks braced by timbers. The mill pond covered about 2 acres. The water was diverted through an earthen raceway to a point where it entered a wooden raceway about 80 feet long which carried water to the top of the Water Wheel.
.....NOTE the Water Wheel when you visit. Most people do not realize that the wheel has a toothed gear ring along its edge(look for the “teeth” on the outside edge of the wheel). This is what turned a shaft that ran from the wheel into the mill itself to turn the mill stones. The water wheel is 24 feet in diameter and 3 feet wide!
.....Note also you can see the foundation of a Sawmill just down from the wheel, which was powered by the water wheel as well.
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.....You are searching for a large bulk pill bottle about 12" tall and 3"x 6" in cross section. It holds a log and pen and is large enough for trade items(some already in it).
.....You can park along the side of the road right at the location, but to access the cache you must go down the bank a few feet. THE CACHE is located at the North West corner of the building. There is a faint geocaching.com symbol near it. Be careful on the bank, which can be slippery, as the mill is located right along the river.
.....Do not attempt this after dark. It would be unsafe to do so and I told the owner it would be searched for in the daytime.
.....HAPPY CACHING!!!
FTF HONORS GO TO....BASSET HOUNDS!!!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ba gbc bs gur sbhaqngvba cvyyne, haqre gur A-J pbeare bs gur ohvyqvat [(next to the river)].