MILL ADVENTURE LAB AND PUZZLE INTRODUCTION
The Puzzle caches include pictures and would be best done by phone VS gpsr to get a much better idea of what once stood there. Your phone should allow you to tap a picture then pinch to enlarge. Originally I had all 14 puzzles as AL Bonuses, but the way I had set it up didnt meet the rules so I have changed them to be very simple ordinary puzzles and each Lab now ends with its own Trackable number you can discover and leave a comment if you want.
North Adams has a long interesting history from Fort Massachusetts built in 1745 through present day Mass MoCA. Early on it was mostly agriculture then grist and saw mills sprang up then ore and textile mills. Some highlights of the area:
The Hoosac Tunnel and two large roundhouses making the area a railroad hub with at times 85-90 trains a day using the tunnel. The North Adams Iron Company that smelted the iron for the plates on the USS Monitor. There were hot air balloon races a fairgrounds, circus's, Wild West shows, baseball, big name boxing matches, vaudeville shows, large theaters and ball rooms. Many celebrities also visited and stayed here, a couple were Nathaniel Hawthorne, Fred Astaire, Duke Ellington, Johnny Cash, Tommy Dorsey, Babe Ruth ( who played here) 3 Presidents and many others. Doris Day even worked here in her husbands familys hardware store.
One big thing that contributed North Adams becoming a prosperous city were the Mills/Factories. There were dozens of them producing flour, leather, paper, cotton and cashmere cloth, shoes, hats, watches, machinery, bricks, and much more. Why would such a small area have so many mills? Answer: Trains and rivers. Looking at the flood chutes today you dont see much water at all. In fact often the flow is only a few feet wide and a foot deep, but look at the old maps and you will see how they built many dams and diverted water to create additional reservoirs. Today most of the reservoirs have been filled in and houses built on them. The remaining dams are filled with runoff so they appear only a foot or 2 deep. There is even a tunnel still in place from Windsor lake to The Windsor mill that was used to get water as needed then they would later pump water back up.
Today most of the mills are gone. The few that remain are in poor shape. Others have been refurbed and are condo's, artist lofts, or the Worlds Largest Contemporary Art Museum.
The Adventure Lab and associated puzzle caches will take you to the locations of a few of the mills. While there don't just look for the answers, Look at the included pictures, when possible take a walk around and imagine working in the “old days”.
This cache is not at the site of one of the mills, rather I placed this puzzle here to provide a summary about the area and Mills that caused North Adams to become a prosperous city. I would have put the info in the Adventure Lab Description but that is limited to 1,000 characters.
THIS CACHE LOCATION
This cache is placed at the West end of what was once the North Adams Fairgrounds. The main entrance was about .3 miles to the East where “Fairgrounds Ave” is now.
The Fair 1st started in the 1800's and was a huge event known throughout the nation. Barnum & Bailys made multiple visits between 1878 and 1903 as did Ringling Brothers Circus and Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. Some of these events were complete with parades and elephants walking through the city.
During its heyday up to 14,000 people a day would attend. Can you imagine that many people arriving by train, horse, or foot? The fair was such a well know event that even President William McKinley visited in 1897. The fair was popular for many reasons including shows for produce, cattle, horses. It had carriage racing and many vendors selling vegetables, clothing, and much more. It was as popular as London England and Paris France for Hot air Ballooning. In 1908 it became the 1st place in the country to host a point to point hot air balloon race. - a tough thing to do when you are at the will of the wind.
Through out the many years the fair ran there were often floods which would run through the fairgrounds and it would have to be rebuild. Finally the big flood of 1927 wiped out nearly everything and it was not rebuilt. A few years later the land was sold to Sprague Electric for a toxic waste dumping ground. It has since been “Cleaned Up” ( you you are standing in that area )
THANKS To North Adams Historical society for providing information and photos
To solve for this Puzzle:
Final Coords X= the number of Yellow fire hydrants + the Number of Red Hydrants ( both within 75 feet of the posted coords) -1
42 41.966 073 08.X76