Rogues' Hollow - History & Legends v1.0 Multi-Cache
Tom Bombadil: Archived for lack of owner response and maintenance.
Rogues' Hollow - History & Legends v1.0
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This multi-cache should take no more than 10 minutes in your car
for stages one, two, and three. (All within a couple miles.) Stage
four is a 5 minute walk to a .50 caliber ammo can!
Rogues’ Hollow wasn’t always known for the rough
characters and legends that surround this area. When Samuel
Chidester moved his family here in 1828 he called it
“Pleasant Valley”. A drive through the valley or a walk
on the trails at the Rogues’ Hollow Historical society
property will show that he aptly named it. It also had several
other names. In the 1840’s it was also called “Peacock
Village” and “Peacock Hollow”. The Indians called
it “Niabara” which means beautiful valley. Over time
though, the name Rogues’ Hollow was adopted.
In 1840 the first commercial coal mine was opened by David
Galehouse one half mile West of the hollow. Between 1840 and 1945
there were at least 103 commercial coal mines in the vicinity of
Doylestown which prospered from coal mining. Many of the men who
had worked building the Ohio and Erie Canals came to the Hollow to
work in the coal mines. The coal was transported out of Doylestown
by the Ohio canal and after the flood in 1913 it traveled by
rail.
The average Doylestown mine was roughly 110-160 feet below ground
level. Miners would use a hand drill seven or eight feet long.
Throughout the day they would drill holes in their assigned
“room” in the mine. They would work on their backs many
hours a day uncomfortable conditions. The average vein thickness of
the coal was only 4 feet. When the hole was deep enough it would be
packed with blasting powder and capped off with a squib and fuse.
At the end of the day all of the miners would take their turn to
blast. The next day after the dirty air from the blast cleared the
miners would break the coal into pieces if necessary and shovel it
into coal cars that had the miner’s number on the side.
Miners were paid 50¢ per ton of coal and averaged $1.00 to $1.50
per day.
The hundreds of miners of this area worked hard 6 days a week but
when the weekend came they played hard on Saturday and Sunday
nights. Where else would they play hard but the local saloon? In
the 1200’ along Hametown Road that travels through the Hollow
there were no less than seven saloons that operated at the same
time. Most likely there were more but like many of the details of
Rogues’ Hollow, the memory of them has been forgotten. Only
two of these buildings remain. The listed coordinates will take you
to what was known as the Murray saloon. It was run by James
Murray.
The Murray Saloon was south of the Woods Grist Mill which later
became known as the Angfang Mill. This mill operated from 1840
until 1913 when a flood destroyed the dam at Angfang’s Mill.
Just north of the former Murray Saloon you may be able to see part
of the mill foundation near a pond constructed sometime around
1957. The Murray Saloon was also the residence of Alexander Woods
and the Angfang family.
Across the street from the saloon and mill is where the stables
were located. This is where the mules used in the Woods mine were
housed. Miners would drive the mules through the mill race for the
Wood’s Mill so the black coal dust would be cleaned from the
mules. Part of the foundation for the mule barn can still be
seen.
The North coordinates for stage two are: N 40° 57.021 Answer the
question for the W coordinates.
How many house windows are on the north side of this home?
5 - W 081° 40.447
7 - W 081° 40.735
9 - W 081° 40.565
To the North of this stage two location is where 36 company houses
built by the Silver Creek Mining Company were located. They were
built to house miners who worked in the Woods mine. The Woods mine
was a few hundred feet west of this location. This was called
“Ghost Village” after these company houses were
razed.
Here you will also see the coordinates to stage 3.
Between the former Murray Saloon and stage three imagine on the
left small homes and taverns on stilts. To the right were the known
locations of three more saloons.
You will now come to a residence that was known as the Walsh saloon
which was ran by Mike Walsh. This was the biggest saloon in the
hollow. On the second floor there was a dance floor which was built
on heavy springs. The springy floor was thought to make dancing
less tiring so that patrons could stay through the night without
tiring. It is believed that the Walsh Saloon was also a stage coach
stop on the only public transportation of the day. On your map you
will see that the road used to pass within 10 feet of the saloon.
This would make traveling up Clinton Road much easier.
Notice the well out front of this residence. This is the well where
some land deeds were measured from in the Hollow. A deed in 1869
was described as a parcel “to be 9 rods north of the well in
Rogues’ Hollow.” (A rod is equal to 16½ feet.)
The other five known saloons in the hollow were Mrs. Ducey’s
Saloon, the Lieberth Saloon, The Hole-in-the-wall saloon (AKA
Devil’s Den), the Jenkins Saloon and the Smith Saloon.
This was a bustling area! Try to picture the hundreds of men in
this area on a Saturday night drinking and fighting. Most men
traveling from Doylestown to Clinton (or vise versa) would travel
the long way around by means of Johnson’s Corner’s. If
a man dared travel through the hollow, especially on an evening, he
could expect trouble. Sometimes gangs of men would stop the
traveler and demand a "setup". The cost would be $1 and this would
setup the gang of men with four gallons of beer. In the
1890’s the Tri-County News warned readers to be armed at all
times. One needn’t wonder why.
Add the number of wagon wheels leaning against the well to the
number of stars decorating the north side of this home formerly
known as the Walsh Saloon. (No need to doubt yourself.) The answer
will take you to the final stage of this multi-cache.
1 - N 40° 56.185 W 081° 40.514
2 - N 40° 56.560 W 081° 40.432
3 - N 40° 56.853 W 081° 40.245
4 - N 40° 56.546 W 081° 40.439
5 - N 40° 56.568 W 081° 40.408
Most of the information for this cache series has been derived from
the book Rogues' Hollow -
History and Legends by Russell Frey. I have read this book
many times as the stories of the Hollow are fascinating to me.
Originally published in 1958 this book was more recently reprinted
in 2002. For further information please contact the Chippewa -
Rogues' Hollow Historical Society. http://www.rogueshollow.org
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