Actually, Maj. Gen. John Sullivan probably rode a horse
rather than marched during his encampment near here from Aug.
11-26, 1779. Historians believe his Fort Sullivan was just
south of here and served as his base of operations during his
expedition against the Iroquois Confederacy. Take a walk south on
Main St. and visit the other historical markers documenting this
(Waymarks WM3Q32 & WM3Q3G). You'll also enjoy the many fine
Queen Anne style homes in Athens' Historic District (National
Register of Historic Places).
And Stephen Collins Foster, considered the first great
American songwriter, was too busy to dance. He was playing the
flute featured in his first composition, “The Tioga Waltz.”
Stephen was in Bradford Co. under the care of his brother William,
a civil engineer on the North Branch Canal. This song was written
while Stephen was an “unenthusiastic student” at Athens
Academy, which was located right on this site. According to
some sources, Stephen preferred to be in nearby Towanda, PA because
of its town band! There's a link on this
webpage for a recording of Stephen Foster's "The Tioga Waltz":
Link*
*Alert: You are about to download a
file in order to obtain further details needed to find this
geocache. As the cache owner, I represent that this file is safe to
download although the files needed to complete this geocache have
not been checked by Groundspeak or by the Geocache Reviewer for
possible malicious content. As a result, you are downloading this
file at your own risk. (link now directs to
webpage rather than .wmp file-- see my 5/4/08 log; Standard
Groundspeak disclaimer-- you do not need this info to solve for
coords, just thought you might like to hear "The Tioga Waltz" while
reading this cache page)
(Sources: Tioga Pt. Museum, PBS, PA Historical & Museum
Commission, Tioga Pt. Chapter of the D.A.R., Bob January's Stephen
Collins Foster website)
Academy Park is located across the street from the Spalding
Memorial Library and Tioga Point Museum, part of the Endless
Mtns. Heritage Trail. I hope you get to visit the museum
afterwards. It is open Tues. & Thurs., 12N – 8 pm and Sat.,
10 am – 1 pm. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
It has a nice collection of Native American artifacts and
historical documents from the Valley area. And there are also some
collections from around the world. You might be pleasantly
surprised! You can visit their website here:
Link
The cache contains a log book and cache pencil (but BYOP). It is
starting out with historically relevant trades purchased from the
Tioga Point Museum’s gift shop-- pewter dice (colonial
soldiers hammered their musket balls into dice to play tavern games
such as Hazard), a pin replica of the Flag monument, and
Pieces of 8 (when they will fit!-- replica Spanish Milled
dollars, often broken into as many as 8 "bits" for use as currency
during colonial days). The FTF prize also came from the gift
shop and was created by a local craftsperson. (sorry guys, hope
there’s a lady in your life!)
Please limit your searching to daylight
hours and stay within the park’s boundaries. We don’t
want to alarm the neighbors. You will have to be stealthy, as they
are very close. There is also no need to go
down onto the Susquehanna flood plain in the back. But enjoy
the bird life back there, from safely within the park's
boundaries! There are also picnic tables and a trash can
available for your use. Please be aware that
POISON IVY is scattered throughout
the park.
SOLVING FOR COORDINATES:
The posted coordinates are for a very dramatic statue located in
the park, “Pro Patria Et Gloria.” This is also called the
Flag Monument.
Just a stone’s throw away are the “Sullivan Expedition
Against the Iroquois Indians” stone monument and the Athens
Academy stone monument. There is nothing hidden on each of
these monuments. But you will use inscribed info on each to solve
for the coordinates. PLEASE DO NOT POST
SPOILER PICTURES OF THE REQUIRED INFO.
You may find some of the required dates on the internet. But a
warning, some are disputed! All calculations were done using
what is LISTED ON THE MONUMENTS. Use only the last 3 digits in each
date, the math works out the same.
FINAL COORDS: N41° 57.ABC, W076°
30.DEF
A= "Distance between Teaoga & Sheshecunnunck" - 3
BC= "Year Pro Patria Flag Statue was presented to Athens Twp." -
"Year Stephen Foster wrote The Tioga Waltz" + 30
DEF= "Year the Sullivan Expedition Monument Stone was placed" -
"Year Athens Academy was planned" + 789
Hope you enjoyed the history!
Congratulations to adamsduo for FTF!