THE MANY STORIES OF GINGER HILL Multi-Cache
THE MANY STORIES OF GINGER HILL
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
N 40º 11.ADB W 080º 02.0CE
Ever wonder what’s in a name? Why places are named the way they are? Well I’ve always had a fascination with finding the historical root of place names and by doing so I’ve learned some interesting things. This cache will take you on a tour of a location that on the surface might not seem like it has a tale to tell but offers up four places that we feel are just darn neat. So welcome one and all to The Many Tales of Ginger Hill
This cache consists of four virtual locations and a fifth stage with a 30 caliber ammo can. Be ready to drive a bit too each location and to spend about an hour or two completing the puzzle and finding the cache. The coords at the top of the page will take you to stage 1.
Stage 1: N 40º 11.768 W 080º 00.005
The Whiskey Rebellion
The first stage will take you to a location that you might pass and never really pay any attention to but there is something very cool that happened in the area many…many years ago
Ginger Hill wasn’t always named Ginger Hill. Its first name was Hamilton Hill, named after William Hamilton who built a little square one room home around 1780 just across the street from stage 1. The home is no longer there. But two neat tales surround these locations.
The first story involves our first President George Washington. At one time when Gen. Washington was passing through the country with Dr. Craik, they saw a girl by the roadside picking blackberries. Dr. Craik asked her if George Washington could get his dinner at her house. She replied, "Mother is going to have only peas and potatoes for dinner; if George Washington can eat peas and potatoes, I expect Father will give him his dinner." Dr. Craik assured her that George Washington can eat peas and potatoes. So as the story goes and it’s corroborated in Washington’s journal he ate dinner at the home before moving on to the home of Col. Gannon farther down the road. There is a children's book titled “The Cabin Faced West” by Jean Fritz that tells this story.
The second story, and the one most connected with the location at Stage 1 deals with David Hamilton, son of William, and a tax collector named Robert Johnson. Hamilton like most residence of the area made whiskey and was none too happy about the Excise Tax. On the night of November 14th 1794 Johnson seized Hamilton's still. According to one account it was a dark disagreeable night and the road back to Parkinson’s Ferry (modern Monongahela) wasn’t the smoothest. So Johnson stayed with Hamilton that night. Hamilton, being a shrewd man had a plan. Hamilton pretended it didn’t bother him that his still was seized and offered Johnson a drink and a warm fire. That night the two men plus a few of Hamilton’s friends sat by the fire disusing the Excise Tax while drinking something know as “Black Betty”, which had large quantities of Jamaican Ginger as an ingredient. Johnson became so drunk that he collapsed on the floor and while he was unconscious the men moved Hamilton’s still to a safe location. Ever since then the name of the area was called Ginger Hill. Later Hamilton would buy the tavern opposite his home and he renamed it “The Ginger Hill Inn”. He was also a participant in the Whiskey Rebellion.
The building is not the actual building that Hamilton owned but occupies the same location. Today another tavern occupies this site. You DO NOT have to go in. All you have to do is:
1. Count the letters in the name (both words) and subtract 9.
2. Once you’ve got that number place it in the space marked A
Stage 2: N 40º 11.078 W 080º 00.082
The Mothman Prophecies
The second location brings us to a site where a major motion picture took place called The Mothman Prophecies. During 2001 while I was attending California University of Pennsylvania I came home one day via this route only to find miles of cable and cameras in the area. I had no idea what was going on and never thought anything of it that day till I read what going on later. This site plays a major role in the film. Richard Gere’s car breaks down here and he walks up to the house a little father on down the road. Needless to say with a title like The Mothman Prophecies it has a supernatural connection. If you can see the movie before doing this cache or right after, you’ll recognize the location right away.
To get the numbers needed follow these directions:
1. Look at the telephone pole and locate a disk with the name West Penn System.
2. Add up the five digits and subtract 12.
3. Place the new number in for B.
There is a bonus virtual stage here. You DO NOT need to go here if you don’t want to. After getting the coords follow the road for about 10 seconds and you’ll see a house on the left at N 40º 10.999 W 080º 00. 027. This house played a major role in the film. DO NOT GO UP TO THE HOUSE as it is private property. You can see it just fine from the comfort of your car. Again you don’t need to go here but if you want to see a bit of Hollywood history in the area it’s worth the extra minute or two detour.
Stage 3: N 40º 11.762 W 080º 00.236
War Memorial
The third location will take you to a war memorial for those that fought and died from Ginger Hill. Each of the names on the memorial has a story to tell but there are way too many for this short amount of space. We love stopping at these locations and pay our respects to those that fought in the name of freedom and liberty.
To get the numbers needed you need to do two things.
1. Add up the number of men with parachutes + the number of helicopters and put that number in for C.
2. Count the number of stars next to the names of the veterans and place that number in for D.
Stage 4: N 40º 11.480 W 080º 01.639
A really old place
The history of the fourth location is kind of murky. I wasn’t able to locate a really solid story for this location but it offers up a pretty building. If anyone knows more history of this location please feel free to contact me so I can add it to the cache page. You will get the credit for the information and my utmost thanks. I did find later stories but nothing from the time period that I wanted.
To get the numbers needed you need to:
1. Locate the year it was established.
2. Take the 3rd number and place it in for E.
Final location: N 40º 11.ADB W 080º 02.0CE
After completing the tour of Ginger Hill go to the final location and look for a 30 caliber ammo can. This involves a little hike down a trail. There is a first to find prize…an unactivated geocoin from the 10th Anniversary of Geocaching party held at the beginning of May. If you’ve already got a coin please leave it for the first person that doesn’t. The coords I got might be about 30 feet off due to tree cover but just use your geo sense and you’ll do fine. Please recover the cache just as good of not better then you found it.
We hope you enjoy your tour of the area and hope that maybe you’ll take home a nice memory as a souvenir. Remember be respectful of the areas, make sure your car has gas, and bring a snack.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Npebff gur perrx, va n ubyybjrq bhg gerr haqre fbzr fgvpxf.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures