STARTING AT ROSANNA GO . . .
BEARING: 10 x (month Joe died x month Rosanna died) + year Rosanna died - year Joe died (NOTE: This references magnetic north)
DISTANCE: 2 x Rosanna's age
NOTE: THE AMMO BOX ISN'T STAYING CLOSED BY ITSELF TOO WELL ANYMORE . . . IT NEEDS HELP.
SO WHEN YOU'RE DONE, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SECURE THE AMMO BOX LID BY LIFTING THE LOWER HASP OVER THE SNAP LEVER TO STOP IT FROM FLIPPING OPEN . . . THANKS!
This cache is best done in the late afternoon as the marker engravings are more easily read when the sun is low in the western sky. This section of Thunderhill Road is very lightly travelled so pulling off to the side is not a problem. If you're concerned, you can pull into the farmer's field entrance near the intersection with Creek Road (see parking waypoint coordinates). If you park here, it's best to walk on the road to the gravestone coordinates . . . the woods can be pretty thorny. There are No Trespassing signs along the road, but I asked the farmer and he's fine with people walking in the woods . . . . Just no hunting.
The book in the cache is more than 165 years old (check out the copyright date). We found it in a Kennett Square bookstore and thought it was perfect for the cache because it's about the same age as the graves. We felt bad coring it out but figured it'll be appreciated by more people in this cache than hidden on a dusty bookshelf where it'd never see the light of day.
You likely would have walked or driven past these gravestones and never seen or known they were there. In the winter the gravestones are fairly easy to see from the road . . . but when the leaves are out, they're harder to find. This is what's left of the Flatfoot Union Cemetery. Only two standing gravestones, some fieldstone markers, and a number of shallow grave depressions remain. The best preserved gravestone is that of Joseph and Rosanna Mayhew. The second standing gravestone is that of Ellis Glasco (died 1887). The inscription on the Glasco gravestone (carved on the top arched surface) is very difficult to see but can be "read" by tracing your finger in the inscription. According to an old newspaper article, a gravestone which is gone from the cemetery is that of Dan Queen, who died from a gunshot wound to the head during a riot at nearby Lincoln University.
The Flatfoot Union Church appears on the 1847, 1860, and 1883 maps of New London Township. On some of these maps is the home of the Mayhew family. This was close to the Pleasant Gardens Iron Forge which employed local residents. Other nearby workplaces shown on the 1860 map included a cotton lap factory and a paper mill. A mansion at the forge is said to have served as a station on the Underground Railroad.
NOTE: There are two old stone driveway pillars at the nearby intersection of Camp Bonsul Rd and Lewisville Rd that are engraved with the words "Pleasant" and "Gardens". We wonder if these are associated with the old forge & mansion.
+ + + Congrats to LINCOLNSLOGGING for the FTF - Great job! + + +