Dutch Kills Mill Stones Traditional Geocache
bruceEe333: Unfortunately, the GZ has been completely fenced in, and since it was just a parking lot, I'm guessing the reason for the fence is that they are going to remove the stones, to add to a future park in the area. If the stones are still there after the fence comes down, I'll put up another cache, or maybe I'll just wait til the park goes up.
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(micro)
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Micro cache, able to hold very small swag. Area is always busy, a good amount of stealth is required, especially during rush hour. Please make sure cache is well hidden
While walking to this cache, you may have stepped over some circular objects embedded into the sidewalk. They might look like fancy oversized manhole covers, but in fact, they are probably the oldest European artifacts in Queens. They are mill stones, dating back 350 years, but how did they get here?
"The Dutch Kills mill is thought to have been the oldest of a handful of western Queens mills that existed during Colonial times.
Dutch settler Berger Jorrisen built the mill along Dutch Kills in 1657.
The present-day site is in the Sunnyside Yards, roughly where the East Side Access tunnel is being dug to connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal.
The mill was torn down in 1861 to make way for the railyard.
The Payntar family, who owned the mill property at the time, saved the stones and displayed them outside their home near what is now Queens Plaza.
They were mortared into the sidewalk outside the former Long Island Savings Bank building sometime after the Payntar home was razed in the early 1900s."
There are plans to dig out the stones and display them in a park that will be built near Queens Plaza, but with these tough economic times, who knows when that will happen. Until then, Happy Caching!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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