Orange Mound Cache Traditional Cache
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is my first cache. It is located on Orange Mound, an old Indian Mound. There is a trail south of the cache that takes you most if not all the way to the cache, but it's a long hike. It is much easier if you have a kayak, canoe, or airboat to reach this location.
Closest place to launch a boat is from Hatbill Park.
Cache is in an Ammo Container.
There is no digging allowed on the Indian Mounds.
This cache is located on an old Indian Mound named Orange Mound. People often think of burial mounds when they hear the term “Indian Mound” used. This is, however, not a burial mound. Most of the Indian mounds located on the St. Johns river are actually Shell Mounds. You can perhaps actually think of them nowadays as old trash heaps. Digging at these sights is not allowed!
There are many wild orange trees on this island, oak trees and pottery shards can still be found along the coastline on the Northern shore of the mound.
While we know that some of these mounds date back 6,000 years, we don’t possess a complete picture as to their purpose. There were many Indian cultures that occupied the banks of the St. Johns river for the past 5,000 years. One of the many Indian cultures that occupied this area are the Timucuan Indians. Timucuan Indians lived on the banks of the St. Johns near Geneva. Pottery shards identified by the Central Florida Anthropological Society were found at King Philips Town dating from 1450-1250 B.C. to A.D. 800-1300. Pottery Shards can still be found in abundance today along the banks of The St John's River, including this very mound.
There are many mounds along the St Johns River between Route 46 all the way South to Route 520. A few of the mounds are named and can be found on Topo Maps. Since most of these mounds are built on Islands or coastlines, most all of them can only be easily accessed by boat.
These types of Indian Mounds are also referred to as shell middens. Some of these shell middens are quite large sometimes covering several acres and often up to 25 feet (7.6 m) high. In the 19th and 20th centuries it was common practice to mine these shell middens and use the shells to make roads. Turtle Mound, near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, is believed to have once been 75 feet (23 m) high before it was reduced by shellrock mining.
If you look around while standing on Orange mound you can spot a few more Indian mounds. They are easily identified from a distance because they are the only areas (aside from the forest line) on the St. Johns river that have oak trees growing on them. Shells make the mound calcareous and alkaline, and remnants of bone, flesh, and forest debris add organic nutrients that produce a rich soil. Due to the enriched soil of these mounds, calcium-loving trees grow exceptionally large on these sites. So when you look around and you spot an unusual cluster of oak trees in the middle of the river, you can almost bet it’s an old Indian Mound.
Thanks for visiting, and please practice CITO!
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