GC56319 Canal Trail: Hydraulic Canal & Worthington Home (Traditional Cache) in Ohio, United States created by FirstCapitalCachers; kevo45601

This cache has been archived.

Backwoods Reviewer: As the owner has not responded to my prior note, I am archiving this listing.

Backwoods Reviewer

GC56319 ▼

A cache by FirstCapitalCachers; kevo45601 Message this owner

Hidden : 6/1/2014

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

This cache highlights the hydraulic section of the canal that helped feed water from Paint Creek. You can where this section of the canal flowed by looking just to the north where the railroad tracks are. From there it flowing across 8th street, behind Caldwell, across 7th at the intersection of Mulberry & 7th, then ran behind the old Velvet Ice Cream building and then connected in the basin in Poland Park. .

This cache is along the old hydraulic canal line branch off the Ohio-Erie canal. It was used for local industry, and also served Thomas Worthington's (first governor of Ohio) mill that was located west of the sandstone block house still standing by the side of the road. It was said that the need for adequate housing for the mill manager prompted Worthington to dismantle a stone structure originally built at the bottom of the hill to Adena (his mansion) near Lake Ellensmere, and to have it rebuilt here by the mill race. In the area now occupied by Glatfelter (locally known as "The Mead"), were several lagoons along the hydraulic canal that fed the mill race and were also used to power the paper-making industry before steam power became available. (Many thanks to local historian Kevin Coleman for sharing his in-depth knowledge and helping to perserve little-known facts about the area.)

Additional information was supplied by Mark Howell: The Mary Worthington Macomb House is a historic residence in southern Chillicothe, Ohio, and is located on South Paint Street, sitting near the banks of Paint Creek. One of the oldest buildings still in existence in Chillicothe, the Macomb House once sat on a land tract of 35 acres that was originally owned by Nathaniel Massie. The oldest of Governor Worthington's daughters was Mary, who was born in 1797. Although Mary and her family lived in the Adena Mansion on Chillicothe's northern side, she chose to marry lower in society circa 1816. Her new husband, David Macomb, was a member of a prominent local family, but his poor management of their property forced them into debt, and they settled in the southern United States, where Mary died while moving to Texas in 1836. Before moving southward, the Macombs resided in the present two-story house, which is built primarily of large blocks of sandstone. After the Macombs' departure, the property was converted for industrial uses. By 1845, multiple new buildings arose around the old structure, including a frame building and a slaughterhouse. These buildings are no longer on the property. In 1976, the Macomb House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying both because of its historically important architecture and because of its place in local history: most significant were its architecture, its role in commerce, and its place in the exploration and settlement of the local area. By the early twenty-first century, the house had deteriorated greatly; with the proposal of an influx of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, applications were made for stimulus dollars to restore the house, and a complete restoration was estimated to cost approximately $500,000.

MARY TIFFIN WORTHINGTON (1797-1836) "We stand in slippery places.” Mary Worthington was the first child of Thomas and Eleanor Worthington. She was born in Berkeley County, (West) Virginia a year before the family relocated to the Northwest Territory. Unusual for girls in the early 1800’s, Mary and her sister Sarah were well educated in boarding schools in Kentucky and Maryland. At the Academy for Young Females in Baltimore, they received their fashionable training and parlor manners of society. Mary attended one of Dolly Madison’s tea parties at the White House. It was after Mary’s marriage to David Macomb at the age of nearly 19 that her life took a tragic turn. Even though David was from a prominent family, he was not a good provider for his wife and children. Debts forced an auction of their belongings in Chillicothe before their move to Tallahassee, Florida. Life was primitive there and financial difficulties continued. Mary wrote home that she feared for her children’s educations. “We stand in slippery places” was written to her brother Albert as he also had not found a good place in life and they both felt forsaken by their parents. David Macomb was lured from Florida to what he thought would be a better life in Texas. It was on that trip that Mary became ill and never recovered. She was 39 years old and had given birth to seven children, two of whom died. Husband David, despondent and ill, committed suicide a year later and the two were buried in the “wild woods of Texas.” Their graves were never located.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Svfuvat jnf n tbbq cnfgvzr va gur byq pnany... vs lbh qvqa'g syvc lbhe yvq.

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)