Trackless Depot Letterbox Hybrid
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The subject of this cache is a National Historical Landmark, the Cobham Station Depot, built in Victorian style in 1891.
It is not necessary to go onto the property of the farm nor the posted land to find this camo'd plastic container, which is also a letterbox (Please do not remove the rubber-stamp!) **NOTE STAMP NO LONGER IN BOX, will replace soon**
The cache is hidden on the border of a 1790 farm property now owned by The Elizabeth Aiken Nolting Charitable Foundation. It will be found along the road named for this family. You may park along this road, many hunters do, just be careful that you’ve found a spot without a ditch.
**DO BEWARE of the POISON IVY - getting this cache may require brushing against a some of it**
Although it is not necessary to go on the farm property to find the cache, its rustic scenery may tempt you to visit longer than the quick find the cache will require. The foundation manages the farm and makes available to the public the pond for fishing and a birding and wildlife trail. (visit link) **NOTE FARM HAS RECENTLY CLOSED TO PUBLIC FOR FISHING/BIRDING.**
This cache was hidden to celebrate the March 15th, 2005 fateful re-meeting of Sandy and Duff who now live in this home. The original cache contained a FTF prize and swag for kids and 'big kids' - much of which follows the train and Victorian themes of the cache. No need to follow theme unless you can. SandyDuff will drop TBs here from time to time.
CONGRATS TO YUMITORI AND LEONATA FOR FIRST TO FIND!!!! All the way from Montana! SECOND TO FIND CONGRATS TO SERRABOU!
More about the land and getting to the cache location.
The farm the Depot House now resides on is part of the Green Springs National Historic District, created to protect these 14,000 acres of mostly privately owned 18th and 19th century plantations. (visit link) The necessity of this protection will be clear if you make your way to this area from highway 64, which is becoming heavily developed.
The location of the cache was chosen to give you a good view of the “Trackless Depot”, originally the Cobham Station Depot. This National Historical Landmark, built in 1891 is one of few train stations still standing with the Victorian architecture - the style is called by some a ‘painted lady’ and a lovely rose of a lady she is!! The architectural drawing this depot is modeled from is the first to be recorded. Her original function was as a train station but after this purpose was served she was moved from Cobham Station about 6 miles east of here to this quiet and peaceful spot amongst these fields and bracketts.
More hints for finding your way and some history to boot.
You may find the family road from two different accesses off of route 15. One option approaches from route 22, which passes the historical Boswell’s tavern that was the head quarters of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1781. The family’s road is an easy cantor from this tavern where Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison also frequently stayed. [Note: Just down the road on 15, an historical marker for the Campaign of 1781 is the site of a nearby cache site and my very first geocache!].
If you came from 64 and are more inclined to a shorter ride, the less traveled road is then preferable. This option approaches from Route 640, also called East Jack Jouett Rd, named for Captain Jack Jouett, who, on the night of June 3-4, 1781 made a 40 mile ride by horseback from Cuckoo VA in Louisa County to Monticello to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson of a British attack. As, Pulitzer prize winner Virginius Dabney said in part, “…...Jack Jouett’s arduous and dangerous nocturnal dash, much longer and more difficult than Revere’s, has never been the subject of a ballad remotely comparable in popular appeal to Paul Revere’s Ride. This is the primary reason why his name is almost completely unknown beyond the borders of his native Virginia….” (]visit link) On this road you will pass one entrance to the cache’s farm. Be patient, the road you want, with the foundation founder’s name, is ahead no more than a horses gallop away. NOTE: Your GPS may take you down the farm's 'driveway' to get to the cache as it was a public road that is now CLOSED.
For those interested in the Civil War – this area is rich in civil war history.
Although the depot house you will see at this cache was not built until after the war, the Cobham station where it was located was one of several important targets for the Union Army attempting to break supply lines to the Confederates. The railroad was the cause for the clash of cavalry in 1864 in the Battle of Trevilian Station, the largest cavalry battle of the Civil War (The site is six miles west of the town limits and east of this cache along route 22). This battle occurred on the 11th and 12th of June, 1864 when Sheridan attempted a raid on the Virginia Central Railroad in an attempt to break General Lee's vital supply line from the Valley. Some 13,000 cavalry-men were involved in the battle, of whom 1,619 from both sides were either killed or injured. "Oakland Cemetery" on West Street just off of route 22 in Louisa provided the last resting place for 94 marked but unknown victims of this fierce battle.
Another important local civil war site is the Gordonsville Exchange Hotel - Museum (.]visit link) Before the Civil War, the Exchange Hotel welcomed passengers from the two rail lines: the Virginia Central Railroad and the Alexandria Railroad. During the Civil War troops, supplies, and wounded were transported on these railroads to Gordonsville. The Exchange Hotel became the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital, which provided care for 70,000 soldiers, both Confederate and Union. In the reconstruction period, this hospital served the newly freed slaves as a freedman's bureau hospital. The hotel is now a museum dedicated to the Civil War era. Gordonsville is about 6 miles north of the cache site along route 15.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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