The Calf Pasture Traditional Cache
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(micro)
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This microcache is located on Presqu'ile Point, (but not on provincial park property), near an area known as the Calf Pasture. It is the site of one of the first farms at Presqu'ile and also the last.
This area has an interesting history. In the early 1800's the British saw Presqu'ile as an important spot because of its sheltered harbour and strategic location on the north shore of Lake Ontario. In 1802, they decided to build a town, called Newcastle, on the east side of the Calf Pasture. It was to become the district administrative centre, (with a court house and jail). In 1804 these grand plans came crashing down after the disastrous sinking of H.M.S. Speedy. See HMS Speedy for more information about this event).
In 1805, Amherst (now Cobourg) became the district's administrative centre, and Presqu'ile became an isolated backwater for the next century.
During much of the 1800's there were only a handful of squatters on Presqu'ile. There was little outside influence; e.g. there really wasn't a proper land registry. See the following survey from 1878, which depicts the haphazard property boundaries of the peninsula.
In 1905, John Atkins, an Englishman in New York, bought two lots at the Calf Pasture and established his family farm. In 1927 he purchased 5 additional lots, so that the total property comprised 140 acres. Here they raised cows, cattle, sheep, pigs, turkeys, hens and geese. The soil was only about 6 inches deep, but hay was available for the cattle and oats were threashed every year. They cut wood from the forests and in the winter they cut and stored ice. They provided milk, wood and ice to the campers and cottagers during the summer.
His son, John, raised his family here and lived on the farm until 1959. In 1962 the farm was purchased by the park and the buildings were removed. There is little evidence now this was once a thriving farm.
In order to reach the cache, you'll have to pass though the park gates; just tell the attendant that you're going to the cottage road. The cache contains a log only so BYOP (and just sign your name and the date please).
Congrats to guardian14 and pooky14 for FTF.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Zntargvp
Hc, fbhgu, qbja, pragre