Historic Hillsborough Mystery Cache
NCreviewer: Cache appears to be missing or unmaintained. If the owner wishes to replace it, simply email a request through my profile with the gc code#. If it still complies with the guidelines for listing a cache at geocaching.com it can easily be unarchived.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Historic Hillsborough
The cache is not at the listed coordinates.
This cache is located in the downtown area of Hillsborough, a
small town that is big in history. Hillsborough (originally called
Orange and later Hillsboro) was founded in 1754 by William Churton
on the site of a great Occoneechee Indian trading path. The town
was a center of political activity during the Revolutionary and
Civil War periods. Present day Hillsborough retains more than 100
late eighteenth and nineteenth century structures.
The listed coordinates will take you to a cemetery adjacent to the
Hillsborough Presbyterian Church. Off street parking is available
on Tryon St. The church dates to 1816, and was built to replace a
Church of England structure that was destroyed by fire in the late
1700s. The original church, which was an important structure in the
town and in American history, was the site of the third Provincial
Congress of 1775.
The cemetery, begun in 1757, contains many interesting and notable
gravestones including that of William Hooper, one of the three
signers of the Declaration of Independence from North Carolina. You
will need to obtain information from Hooper's headstone to compute
the cache coordinates. You will also need to visit William Hooper's
house, located at 118 W. Tryon St. (only two doors down from the
cemetery) to get more information.
To find the cache coordinates, you need to discover:
A) The number of letters in the first word on William Hooper's
grave marker.
B) The number of letters in the last word on William Hooper's grave
marker.
C) The number of horse hitching posts leading to the Hooper
house.
D) The approximate date the Hooper house was built.
Compute:
YYY = (A x B x 9) -3
XXX = D - (395 x C)
The coordinates of the cache are:
N: 36 04.YYY
W: 079 05.XXX
This area has one other connection to the Declaration of
Independence. Dr. John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign the
Declaration, was the grandfather of John Knox Witherspoon, the
first pastor of Hillsborough Presbyterian Church.
Please respect this venerable old cemetery. Do not climb or walk
on any of the rock walls, many of which are hundreds of years old.
In addition, the town of Hillsborough asks that rubbings not be
taken from the tombstones, as frequent past rubbings have
accelerated the erosion of the oldest markers. A special metal
plaque is located at the Hooper gravesite for the purpose of
obtaining rubbings. Also, be aware that Hillsborough Presbyterian
is an active church. Please avoid this cache during Sunday services
or during the occasional wedding. One other thing: have fun!
Once you have found the cache, you may want to take some time to
explore the Orange County Historical Museum which is next door to
the church. Admission is free, and the hours of operation are:
Apr-Dec: Tuesday through Saturday, 11-4, and Sunday, 1-4
Jan-Mar: Tuesday through Saturday, 12-3, and Sunday, 1-4
The cache is located on the grounds of the Hillsborough
Presbyterian Church, and was placed by permission.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
1) Pnzbsyntrq ybpx-a-ybpx pbagnvare.
2) Orgjrra gur puhepu naq gur zhfrhz.
3) Ng gur onfr bs n zntabyvn-vfu gerr/ohfu.