BEST Geo-Art: B04/04
Lower Alsace Township, Berks County, PA
Neversink Mountain is one of two prominent mountains that border the City of Reading. From about 1880 to 1930 Neversink boasted about five hotels, a sprawling entertainment complex called Klapperthal Pavilion, and the Neversink Mountain Railroad which ran on the mountain from 1890 until 1917. The hotels on Neversink Mountain were built by a group of local investors as well as railroad people as tourist destinations.
The largest of the hotels, the Neversink Mountain Hotel, sat on the highest point on the mountain on the east summit at an elevation of approximately 800 feet above sea level. The Neversink Mountain Hotel was erected on a tract of 10 acres. Construction started in November, 1891 and was completed in the spring of 1892 at a cost of $127,000.
The building, which was largely modeled after the big summer lodges at Manhattan Beach, Long Island, was five stories high, including the basement, and was constructed entirely of timber. Its dimensions were 365 feet by 40 feet, with a 14-feet-wide piazza surrounding the entire structure, thus giving patrons a splendid promenade 800 feet in length. A stone observation pavilion was constructed at the western end of the promenade. The hotel opened to the public on June 15, 1892.
The Neversink Mountain Hotel was eventually destroyed by fire. The fire started in the basement and spread so rapidly that within 10 minutes the entire building was in flames. Three strangers were said to have been seen walking through the woods when the flames first broke out. The fire evidently started on the porch outside at both ends of the structure and broke into the building. Only the stone walls of the basement story and the brick wall on the north and the tall brick chimney in the center of the hotel remained.
The Hotel was destroyed by fire on …
A. September 29, 1904 (N 40° 28.063 W 075° 55.694)
B. September 29, 1905 (N 40° 28.069 W 075° 55.702)
C. September 29, 1906 (N 40° 28.075 W 075° 55.710)
D. September 29, 1907 (N 40° 28.075 W 075° 55.694)
Note: This cache has the hunting attribute selected. Hunters wear orange, and when the time is right, and so should you. During hunting season, it is best to do this series on a Sunday. The majority of the cache containers are hidden within 10 - 20 feet from the trail. Since these caches are hidden in the woods, you will encounter things like wildlife, poison ivy, bugs, ticks, etc. That is just part of geocaching in the great outdoors. Good Luck.