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Difficulty:
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This is a lock'n'lock box 8"x6"x3". Part of the terrain is on paved walk way the rest is in wooded area with some small streams to hop and only mild thorns or brush. May be wet at times. The trip to the cache is about .5 mile.
This is my first cache. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed finding yours.
You may want to bring a camera.
Much of what you will learn of this valley was recorded by local resident, artist, and historian, Nancy Sawin. Ms. Sawin grew up in this area, taught at and became Head of Sanford School. She wrote many books, among them, A Hockessin Diary, from which I learned most of the history of this area. Unfortunately, Ms. Sawin died last year, but generations will continue to be fascinated by the rich lessons in her books.
The earliest known human inhabitants of this valley were the Indian tribe of the Lenni Lenape. They were hunter, gatherers and fished from streams that were once filled with halibut, pike, bass, rock, mackerel, and perch. Animals that once roamed these woods included bears, panthers, wolves, elk, weasels, and mink.
The first land grant was awarded in Mill Creek Hundred in 1676. European settlers began to populate the valley along Mill Creek (or sometimes referred to as Rum Creek.)
Here they built homes, farms, mills, stores, and taverns. It was a hard scrabble life. The earliest buildings were log cabins and most of these are now gone. Later, they began to build homes, mills, and roads out of rock which serve today as footprints of the early inhabitants that lived and worked here. Now, only the ghosts of the above remain.
This cache will take you past many of these ruins. I do not know the names of those who built them and hope some will help piece the puzzle together.
Please be cautious around these historical sites as they are fragile and can be dangerous.
In 1999, New Castle County started a program to provide Greenways Trails. One of these is the Hockessin Greenways Trail which they hope will help preserve natural areas, improve the watershed, and provide walking and biking trails. For more information on this program and maps you can go to:
www.delawaregreenways.org
Your quest for the cache begins at the parking coordinates. Take the paved path that heads east. From the green Mill Creek Greenway sign, walk down the path app. 65 paces and look through the brush on your right. Please be very cautious here, as there is a ten foot drop off. Hold the hands of young children. This deep stone structure looks like it might have once housed a water wheel for power, but I am not sure and any suggestions you have will be welcome. It is visible during the winter months but summer growth hides the structure and the drop off.
If you look left, there is clearly a man made berm which once probably diverted the stream which runs beside it.
About 30 or so more paces, on your left, you can see the remains of an old house or mill. Please to not climb or disturb this site. The ghosts will be watching.
Walk on to a fork in the path. Here, the county has provided us with a nice bench to sit and admire the man made stone wall ahead. This was part of a cart road that once crossed over the small stream on the left and ran down the south west side of Mill Creek. If you look closely you will see that it leads right to the stone structure. Continue right, along the fenced trail. The fence has an opening in it to allow people and dogs to swim and wade in the deep part of the stream. If you follow that trail at the break in the fence down to the feeder stream and turn to your right, you can still see the remains of a rock support along the stream wall where probably a bridge once crossed.
Continue on the paved path following the wood fence and cross over the large, steel bridge. You will come to a nice picnic area. Walk down to the edge of Mill Creek and continue on this side to this site to the co-ordinates of stage 2.
Here you will see a large rock in the water. This is no ordinary rock because it tells a story. Tell me the story of who, when, why, and what happened.
Warning: You can skip this step. It is not a requirement of the cache, however, if you do, the ghosts of Mill Creek may return to haunt you.
From here you can follow the herd paths to the cache. If you stay on them you will not have to fight with many stickers.
Inside there are some reminders of this cache for the first five finders. Please leave some SWAG behind in trade.
No hints yet.
There are other great caches in this area. You may want to try a few of those as well. This one may just be a piece of cake after trying some of those more challenging caches!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Na bjy pbhyq yvir urer.