Stow families have lived in Southern New Jersey for many generations, dating back to the beginning of this country’s history. One of the most famous being John Stow, the Brass Smith who along with his partner John Pass recast our nation's Liberty Bell. Some history books claim that he died shortly after recasting the Great Bell, but there is written contradictory proof that indicates John Stow and his wife, sold his business, left Philadelphia and move to southern New Jersey.
A large number of the Southern New Jersey Stow’s were farmers. Looking back through titles and land maps you will see that their families owned hundreds of acres of land in many South Jersey counties including; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem and more.
Bertrund Stow owned a large portion of the land along Evesboro-Medford Road from Green Tree Road to Hartford Road, including the land now owned by Johnson’s Farm and on which Lenape High School was built.
He sold this land and purchased approximately 80 acres on Green Tree Rd, bordering Robert’s Apple Orchards and along the road which would eventually become Rt. 73.
Around 1945, Bertrund’s son Edward C. Stow Sr. would purchase approx 100 acres more adjacent to his father’s land. The Stow homestead was known as Spring Meadow Dairy Farm, on which Stows managed approximately 200 head of Holstein milking cows. The Stow farm encompassed most of the land between Green Tree Rd, Church Rd, Church Street and Rt. 73.
Ed Stow Sr. was joined by Ed Stow Jr. and his three young boys, who continued to work the family farm until about 1976. At that time the family decided to get out of farming. Ed Jr's oldest son decided to become a Funeral Director. He earned his degree and was hired by the Bradley Funeral Home in Marlton. Ed Jr's second son signed up with the US Coast Guard and was stationed as a radioman in Massachusetts. The youngest son had plans to go to college and earn a degree in Accounting.
In the 1970’s Urban Sprawl became a strong influence on the area, people from large urban areas such as Camden and Philadelphia decided they wanted to live in the country. These Urbanites brought with them the problems and attitudes of the city, including a lack of respect for the farming families and their land. These long time residents found themselves dealing with outsiders trespassing onto their property, stealing and vandalizing equipment and letting livestock loose. Motorcycles, and other recreational vehicles were driven through their fields destroying their crops. On top of all this they faced the threat of lawsuits when these people and or their children got hurt or even drowned while trespassing on well-posted farmland. By the end of the 1970’s many South Jersey farms where beginning to disappear.
Bertrand Stow's farm along Rt.73 was sold off first. Several Office buildings, warehouses and a Mt. Laurel water tower where built on Lincoln Drive, a road that ran through the middle of the old farm from Green Tree road to Rt. 73. A year later the livestock and farming equipment were auctioned off. The remaining farmland was leased for a few years to the Rudderow family, another farming family and long time friends to the Stow family. The Rudderow's used the land to grow vegetables; Carrots, Potatoes and Tomatoes, which they sold to Cambell's soup company. The farmland that Edward Stow Sr had purchased, was eventually put up for sale and sold to a developer, who would convert the entire farm into a business park. As a memorial to the family the main road that runs through the park was named Stow Rd.
Some of the Stow family remains in the area and some have moved away. Ed Stow Jr. lived in Tabernacle until 2007, at which time he moved to Virginia. Ed’s oldest son owns his own funeral home in Medford. The Second son, served his time in the Coast Guard and returned back to the area. He lived here for several years but moved to Georgia, after getting married. The youngest son earned his degree in Accounting, and still lives in the area.
The photo below shows an artist rendering of the Stow family farm. The only two landmarks remaining today are the Eves house and the large Irrigation pond.
The Thomas Eves house once served as a primary Stage Coach stop and tavern on the road from Camden to Atlantic City. It was rumored that the Eves house was part of the New Jersey Underground Railroad that helped move slaves from Camden to Trenton and escape to the north. I remember, as a child, exploring the basement and finding trap doors and a hidden room. The Eves house is located in the center of the business park, off of Stow Rd. This area was the center of the farm, the barns, silos and other building’s are now gone. Looking at the painting the Eve's house is the white building towards the back and right . The stables, which were once attached to the right side of the house, became structurally unsound and were removed.
The Pond is located directly behind the Eves house. It runs for approximately 1/4 mile from the bend in Stow Rd to Eves Rd. If you drive around you'll notice there is no stream feeding the pond. This is because the pond is created by springs that come up from the ground. It is a natural phenomenom of this area, hence the name of the farm - Spring Meadow Dairy. There are several smaller ponds in this area all created by the natural ground springs. The Stow pond was once a place of great fun and activities including; Swimming, Fishing, Boating, Sleding and Ice skating.
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The Cache
This is a multi-cache. I have attempted to incorporate some of the things I have found fun and challenging in my short time geocaching. Each stage is a little unique. I hope you will find the hides to be fun and challenging. My goal is to challenge you and make you smile at the same time.
The coordinates above will take you to the first stage of this multi. Once you arrive there you will need to look around for a very significant number. This number is not only significant to the history of the Stow family but should be easily identifiable to any US citizen. Once you locate this very significant number, you need to ADD it to the minutes portion of both the North and the West coordinates below
N 39 53.099 W 074 54.404
(Ignore the decimal point when doing your math. You should end up with 5 digits for each when your done, then put the decimal back in place):
This will give you the coordinates for the second cache (You should not have to leave the Industrial Park, If your coords take you out of the park you did your math wrong)(The second cache hide has been changed due to multiple occurances of muggling, it is still very close to the original hide so I did not change the coordinates).
***PLEASE DO NOT DESTROY THE BUSHES.***
**** YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO GO INTO THE BUSHES TO GET THE CACHE****
Three caches will lead you to the forth and final cache. The final cache is an ammo box and it is loaded with lots of neat stuff. I hope to keep it that way, so bring something cool to trade.
For the FTF:
I have included a $25.00 Dining gift card.
FTF Kudos to the tag team of NLIH & Math Teacher
This is a great cache for the family or groups. You can walk, ride your bike or take the car for the entire multi with little problem. The difficulty of four is based on not using any hints. I feel the second and third caches will be a bit difficult to locate and stealth will be necessary as muggles can appear at any moment.
If you look at the hints then yes, it will be much easier, although even my hints could be deceiving if interpreted incorrectly. I have marked the terrain as a 2. The only bushwhacking you have to do will be for the final cache and in my opinion it’s really mild. Enjoy the honeysuckles. You should not have to trudge through thorns to get to the final cache
Use Stealth, Watch for Muggles
You Should NOT have to walk through any thorns to get to the final cache.
If you find yourself headed into thorns, go back and try to get to the cache another way
Keep in mind the most direct route may not always be the best.
A note on Geo-Caching etiquette:
When you find a cache you become a partner in that caches ownership. You take on the same responsibility for the hide of that cache as the original cache owner. It is your responsibility to make sure that the cache is hidden as well or better then when you found it. If you fail this responsibility then you ruin the game for everyone else that comes after you. If you don’t hide the cache when you’re done, you open the possibility that some stranger will come along and see it and take it. Never move a cache from it’s original hiding area, unless absolutely necessary, and if you do have to move it, please take down the coordinates and immediately notify the CO (cache owner) that you have moved it and what the new coordinates are. Remember this game is all about the numbers and if your moving caches then your not being fair to others. One more thing please be careful of who is watching you. It may be OK if outsiders see you looking around, but don’t let them see you retrieve the cache. Always take a look around before you actually pick up the cache, and then walk a short distance from the hide before you open it up and sign the log. I thank you in advance for keeping this cache fun and exciting for all seekers.
I am very interested in your comments regarding my first hide. So please post your logs and give me feedback both positive and negative. I have added my cryptic hints below. I hope you will use them only when needed and let us know when you did. Most of all I hope you have fun.