OHBOY
– Old Highways and Backroads Of
Yesteryear is a series of caches placed by geocachers in the
East Hants area. The series was placed as part of the 2008 Winter
Placement Extravaganza (WiPE). The series covers over 60km of
backroads and old highways from Brookfield to Elmsdale. This loop
will take you over various road types and through assorted
terrains. Although there is a well known coffee shop at each end of
the loop, there are only a few watering holes along the way and NO
gas stations. Please be careful of vehicle and wildlife traffic
along the road … some of these stretches can be very tricky during
various times of the year. Enjoy!
The cairn
at this graveyard stands as a memorial to the
84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland
Emigrants), who settled the local area around 1784. At that time,
this area was called Douglas Township and was made up of the
communities now known as: Noel, Selma, Maitland and their
surrounding districts. The 84th Regiment was a
loyalist regiment raised during the American Revolution. It was to
become the founding father of all of the brave Canadian Highland
regiments to follow. The 84th had a hard birth but became one of
the most hard working regiments in America. It served and fought
from the Great Lakes to Nova Scotia and from the North Atlantic to
Florida. The men of the 84th served their King proudly and were
instrumental in preserving Canada as the independent nation it is
today. This group was mainly made up of Scottish emigrants who were
veterans of the Seven Years War and had settled in this
area.
Until
recently, a small church stood in the middle of this graveyard and
in 2007 it was moved to it's present location in nearby Milford.
This church, in it's original location, was presided over by a
minister by the name of King. His house (known by some as "King's
Meadow") still stands and is exactly 1 mile (2.2km) from this
cairn. Reverend King made this walk daily.