For my Girl Scout Gold Award Project, I will be placing 27 caches throughout Hunterdon County, NJ. Hunterdon County celebrated its 300th Anniversary in 2014. (The Gold Award is the highest award that can be earned in Girl Scouts).
This series GS GA/TC: (Girl Scout Gold Award/Tri-Centennial), when complete, will consist of Alexandria, Bethlehem, Bloomsbury, Califon, Town of Clinton, Clinton Township, Delaware, East Amwell, Flemington, Franklin, Frenchtown, Glen Gardner, Hampton, High Bridge, Holland, Kingwood, Lambertville, Lebanon Borough, Lebanon Township, Milford, Raritan, Readington, Stockton, Tewksbury, Union, West Amwell and Caching For The Gold. There is no set order or any clues to collect.
This cache will bring you to the Taylor Steelworkers Historical Greenway. I have listed two parking areas. If you park at TISCO you will be near the old TISCO Complex. The 28.3 acre TISCO Complex was once part of a 10,000 acre parcel of land owned by wealthy Investors William Allen and Joseph Turner who founded the Union Iron Works in 1742. The Iron Works produced farm implements, tools and cannon balls for Washington’s Army during Colonial times. In the recent past, this property and structures were once part of the Taylor Wharton Iron and Steel Company, which is the nation’s oldest continuously operating foundry in the country, and America’s second oldest business. The site contains 2 structures, the Shop E, and the historic stone TISCO Office Building. The TISCO Office building dates back to 1742. This structure housed the general office of the steel company and was also used as a company general store and an infirmary.
Walk past the TISCO complex, cross the refurbished truss bridge and proceed left toward the ruins of Union Forge, the Solitude House and Solitude falls.
The cache is a few feet off the blue trail near the Solitude House. (BYOP)
The Solitude House’s first recorded resident was Col. John Hackett who became the superintendent of the adjacent Iron Works established here in 1742 by William Allen and Joseph Turner. Solitude House became the primary residence of the manager of the Iron Works. The first of five generations of Taylors came to reside at Solitude with the arrival of Robert Taylor from Ireland in 1755. He was first a book keeper than after the death of Col. Hackett became manager at the Iron works. The early Taylors were all patriots during the Revolutionary War.
"Solitude” was substantially remodeled and expanded over the years as the iron works became more wealthy and prosperous. The home was made larger in 1755, and again expanded and substantially remodeled in 1850. Some of Solitude's most famous visitors and occupants include George and Martha Washington, as well as General Lafayette, Colonel Charles Stewart, Aaron Burr, and the last royal governor John Penn and his Chief Justice Benjamin Chew who were imprisoned here for 7 months during the Revolutionary War.
From the GZ you can walk behind the stone building to the second parking area where you can take in the view of Lake Solitude and the historic water fall structure, the last remaining I-beam dam originally built in 1858, producing hydroelectric power for TISCO.
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