FSC-2015 Iron Hill Traditional Cache
Hidden : 9/26/2015
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

This cache was originally placed for the the First State Challenge 2015 sponsored by Delaware Geocachers! Although the challenge has ended, this cache is still available to be found!!

FSC-2015 Iron Hill

Cache Details:
From the parking, walk inside the park along a disc golf fairway toward the cache.



Description:

Iron Hill is a prominent geographical feature in the vicinity of Newark Delaware. . With a peak elevation of 328 feet (100 m) it is the highest hill in Delaware. The hill is named for its iron deposits, which were mined over a 200-year period during the 18th and 19th centuries. Iron Hill is part of a New Castle County park known as Iron Hill Park .


Iron Hill and the two neighboring hills are outlying Piedmont outcroppings, east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line and surrounded by the relatively flat Atlantic coastal plain. The hills are igneous intrusions of "Iron Hill Gabbro", a coarse and dark-colored rock composed mainly of plagioclase, pyroxenes, and olivine. The rock contains significant iron oxide deposits in the form of hematite, goethite, and limonite, forming the basis for historical iron mining activity.

Jasper is also present and was used for toolmaking by prehistoric inhabitants of the area. Human activity in the area dates to prehistoric times, when local Native American populations quarried jasper from Iron Hill to make arrowheads and other stone tools. The location was first referred to in print on Augustine Herman's 1670 map of Virginia and Maryland, where it was labeled "Yron Hill".

In 1701 the hill was included in the 30,000-acre (12,000 ha) Welsh Tract, granted by William Penn to a group of settlers fleeing religious persecution in Wales. The Welsh settlers were familiar with ironworking and mining techniques, and soon commenced open-pit mining operations on Iron Hill. During the Revolutionary War, Iron Hill and the surrounding area were the site of the Battle of Cooch's Bridge (also known as the Battle of Iron Hill) in September 1777. George Washington ascended the hill to observe enemy troop movements prior to the battle, which was possible at the time due to deforestation. Subsequent regrowth has since obscured the view from the summit.

Mining on Iron Hill continued until the late 19th century, though extraction of the low-grade ore proved minimally profitable and many of the ventures ended in bankruptcy. The last mining operation on Iron Hill was run by J.P. Whitaker, who shipped the ore to Principio Furnace in Maryland for smelting.

African-American mine workers and their descendants continued to inhabit the area, and in 1923 Pierre S. du Pont funded the construction of Iron Hill School No. 112C to serve this population. The school remained in operation until Delaware public schools were desegregated in 1965 and now houses the Iron Hill Museum.


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Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Jung xvaq bs Ebpx vf gung??

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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