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.
The cache is hidden in Jugtown Moutain Preserve. The name Jugtown comes from the rocky ledges where moonshiners hid their jugs to avoid government authorities during Prohibition.
This area was once called Swayze Mine after landowner William Swayze, who was one of the 41 known mines in the county in the 1800s, and one of the main producers of magnetite ore. Operating from 1868 until 1889 under the direction of the West End Iron Company, the mine yielded 16,000 tons of ore a year. The deepest shaft had a depth of 75 feet and was reached by a tramway. The mine was briefly reopened for four years in 1939 by West Portal Mines, Inc. They excavated an estimated 253,000 tons of ore annually. You can still see remnants of rock pits, ore dumps, and concrete structure foundations along the trails. NOTE: This cache is home-made and all materials used were owned by me.
Visitors during hunting season are strongly encouraged to wear blaze orange or confine visits to Sundays.