Tar and Pitch and Turpentine, Oh My! Traditional Cache

Step back in time, to the late 1500's, when America was just a bunch of colonies...but colonies full of valuable resources. This geocache takes you through the history of Naval Stores, the first and most important industrial commodity of colonial Carolina. Learn how early colonists made the five components of Naval Stores- lumber, tar, pitch, turpentine, and rosin. Learn about the Longleaf Pine and its importance to the early colonists and Naval Stores production.

Welcome to Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest! Please enter the forest through the main gates on Sweet Home Church Road. This medium-sized cache box is located at the site of our Naval Stores Exhibit. TCESF is home to one of a few remaining turpentine stills in North Carolina. This exhibit will take you from start to finish for Naval Stores production; from the collection of "fat-lightered wood" and sap to the production of "rosin", a by-product of turpentine production. After finding the cache, feel free to stick around and view the different parts of the exhibit, listen to the speaker boxes, and view the prints located throughout the exhibit. The cache is large enough for placing trinkets, trackable items, and what-nots. Pen included. Be sure to sign the log, and enjoy your time travel back to the early colonial days. Be sure to venture to the far left of the exhibit to see a reproduction of a tar kiln, as well as remnants of an original tar kiln! *DO NOT CLIMB ON EXHIBITS* (there's no need in order to find the cache) ;o)

****This is a working State Forest. Please obey the rules and regulations of the Forest, and the hours of operation.***

Hours of Operation

Tuesday - Friday: 9a.m. to 5p.m.

Saturday and Sunday: 11a.m. to 6p.m.

Non-peak season (November 1 - End of February): Tuesdays - Fridays ONLY: 9a.m. to 5p.m.