Bridge To Freedom Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Hoosier_Reviewer: Since there has been no response to my previous note, I am archiving the cache.

While we feel that Geocaching.com should hold the location for you for a reasonable amount of time, we cannot do so indefinitely. In light of the lack of communication regarding this geocache, it has been archived to free up the area for new placements. You will not be able to unarchive this listing. If you haven’t done so already, please pick up this geocache or any remaining bits as soon as possible.

"If a geocache is archived by a reviewer or staff for lack of maintenance it will not be unarchived."

Thank you,

Hoosier Reviewer
Community Volunteer Reviewer - Indiana

More
Hidden : 5/6/2012
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Near Freedomland Cemetery

Located near Freedomland Cemetery Parking coords are N 38 19.003 W 85 51.209. Parking is accessible going north on Paoli Pike.

If you enjoy caches that take you to interesting but little known places, this cache is for you. It is located at what is officially named “Old Colored People’s Cemetery”. The cemetery had not been kept up until the 1999 – 2000 3rd and 4th grade classes at S. Ellen Jones Elementary School in New Albany undertook a project to clean up the cemetery. The students renamed it Freedomland Cemetery. The long neglected site is the burial place for as many as 300 colored people, buried here between 1854 and 1915. Records are poor. Nine stones have been found. Four of the headstones are legible. A good number of the people buried here were slaves who escaped from the south via the Underground Railroad. Many of them succumbed to illness or injuries sustained as they fled the south during the Civil War. A number of Indiana’s black pioneers are buried here too.


I heard about the class project in early 2000. I saw people cleaning the area along Paoli Pike. A new headstone, flagpole, and landscaping was put in. As I started researching a little, I found there was more than meets the eye as you drive by on Paoli Pike. You will need to find the cache to see what I am talking about. In December 2000, the school was presented with the Aspire Peacemaker Award. The Louisville Courier-Journal and the Indianapolis Star had articles about the project.

I am happy to report that additional work has been done on the cemetery. The path has been improved and some markers have been placed. You will notice 5" x 5" concrete blocks with numbers engraved in the area. These are grave markers. Poor record keeping has made it impossible to identify the people buried here by name. Please do not disturb these markers.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ab gebyyf jrer fcbggrq va gur cynprzrag bs guvf pnpur

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


Attributes

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