This is a series dedicated to our love of history and the wonderful hobby of geocaching; once we saw that other cachers were enjoying our history-oriented caches, this series was the logical next step! Each cache in this series will tell you about a piece of Lanark Highlands history, including stories of the people and events which shaped this region. Once you have read about the history of the location, you will be able to feel the past around you as you explore the site and search for the cache itself.
The caches range in difficulty and terrain, but they should all be quick finds. They are all in quite rural/treed locations where GPS accuracy is often questionable, but none are difficult hides and we have provided helpful hints it you need them. They are all traditional caches, except where ideal locations are inappropriate for a cache, in which case simple redirects are used. For each cache page, though we have written the story, much of the information and many of the photos are courtesy of the Lanark and District Museum; please do not reproduce the story or photos without consent from the author (Matt Stafford) or the Museum. We hope you have fun learning something new and interesting about each location you visit in the Lanark Highlands; happy caching!
Restin' with the Caldwells
This cache will bring you to one of the oldest sections of the Lanark Village Cemetery, and specifically to the plot of the Caldwell family. Though you will not have to enter the plot to find the cache, the given waypoint will bring you to the graves of some of the most prominent early residents of the Lanark Highlands. This section of the cemetery offers a fascinating glimpse into cemetery ritual and symbolism, and the Caldwell plot in particular marks the resting place of 22 members of a family whose lives were intertwined with the history of the Lanark Highlands for generations.
As you can clearly see from the cache’s location, this is a strikingly unique section of the cemetery. Indeed, it is unlike any other in the region, 
due at least in part to its straddling of both Old World and Victorian Era cemetery and mourning culture. Prior to the reign of England’s Queen Victoria, a cemetery was a forbidden place that one would not enter unless for a burial. Graves were marked with simple markers often bearing only the name of the deceased and a symbol of death such as a skull. This all changed during the reign of Victoria, as she mourned for her husband Albert and sparked an entirely new culture of mourning, much of which continues today.
While the Caldwell plot contains many indicators of an Old World cemetery, such as its iron fence and non-linear organisation, it also adheres to the new Victorian tradition. Names, dates, and other biographical details are inscribed on the stones as the dead were to be remembered and celebrated, and new symbolism reigns, indicating not death but life after death and the sorrow and faith of those who remain. These symbols include the bible, the rose, the urn draped with mourning fabric, the willow tree, and the hand of God or a previously deceased relative leading the way to eternity. All of these symbols and more can be found in the Caldwell plot.
Turning to the residents of this particular plot, here lie many of the most well-known and influential figures of Lanark Highlands history, including some of the earliest pioneers, famed timber barons, and provincial and federal politicians. From the first settlement of the Lanark Highlands to recent times, the Caldwells remain among the most prominent of the region’s historical residents. Scottish pioneers, gristmillers, timbermen, lumbermen, manufacturers, merchants, public-minded citizens, military men, and Members of Parliament; all lie here in the Caldwell family plot.
Located at the center of this plot, beside the obelisk nearest to the entrance and marked by #1 on the photo below is the grave of William Caldwell. A native of Lochwinnoch, Scotland, William came to the Lanark Highlands in 1821 with his wife Margaret and their four children. As was the case for all pioneers in this region, life was extremely difficult in the early years of settlement; William set up a grist mill but materials, supplies, and transportation were hard to come by. It would be his sons, both small children when they came to Canada, who would go on to forge the family name.
Alexander and Boyd Caldwell left home at the ages of 14 and 12 respectively to work in the logging shanties that were beginning to dot the region, marking the beginning of careers what would see both men later named among the great timber barons or ‘lumber kings’ of the Ottawa Valley. Alexander “Sandy” Caldwell (the obelisk nearest the entrance, #2 on the photo) was a hard worker and a fair boss; Joshua Fraser, in ‘Shanty, Forest, and River Life’ writes that “Until a year or two of his death three-fourths of his time was spent in the woods and on the river, sharing the discomforts of the gang in the heaviest and most dangerous work that had to be done.” A hard working pioneer of industry in the region, Alexander would build a lumbering empire for future generations of Caldwells, among whom were owners of mills in Lanark and Carleton Place, an MPP for Lanark North (William Clyde Caldwell, #3), and a Major-General of the Boer War, to name a few. His grave and that of his son are both marked by a tall obelisk, the sign of a businessman.
Boyd Caldwell (the large stone at the back of the plot, #4), the younger son of William Caldwell, also established immensely successful sawmills and shanty operations throughout the Lanark Highlands and in Carleton Place. It was Boyd’s dispute with fellow timber baron Peter McLaren over the use of local waterways that sparked the infamous ‘river wars’ (see another Lanark Highlands History Cache, GC4M5W4), resulting in the passing of the Rivers and Streams Act by the Ontario Legislature in 1884. When Boyd died in 1888, his mills, then run by his sons, sawed millions of board feet annually. His descendants included the owner of the Clyde Woolen Mill in Lanark village and MP for Lanark North, Thomas Boyd Caldwell (beside Boyd’s grave at the back of the plot, #5), and a Major in the First World War. In addition to those located here, many of these and other descendants of William Caldwell lie in the Caldwell family mausoleum near the cemetery’s entrance.
In addition to the intriguing nature of this cemetery itself, those buried in this plot were among those early industrious settlers who truly built the Lanark Highlands. Please be respectful of your surroundings, but be sure to spend some time among the great pioneers and lumber kings buried here. For much of the information given here I must credit the genealogical research of E.L. Jamieson in “Caldwells of Lanark.”
PLEASE NOTE- New Lanark Highlands History caches were placed in rural areas using an iPhone; coordinates have been checked many times but if you encounter a problem, please let us know by personal message and we will attend to it right away. Useful hints have been provided if you need help!