This mystery cache is one of 77 caches that you will need to find to complete the 2016 Hatch Fun Geo-artwork project. All the information you need to solve the puzzle is contained within the following history lesson of Warren County. The same puzzle and answers to the questions A through J applies to all 77 mystery caches that make up the 2016 Hatch Fun Geo-artwork. Some caches will be easy park and grab caches, while others will involve significant hikes over uneven terrain. It is not intended to be completed in one day or maybe not even in one weekend without some serious hiking dedication. It is designed to provide plenty of opportunity to enjoy geocaching, hiking, and scenery in the Scandia area of Warren County and to highlight the fact that we are all nuts about geocaching.
The hikes involved will take you through lands owned by the Allegheny National Forest and Collins Pine Company which is open to all forms of pedestrian public recreation including, hiking, geocaching, and hunting. We suggest wearing blaze orange safety clothing during hunting season, take along extra batteries, food and drink, a flashlight, and a first aid kit as some of the caches will take you to remote locations. Due to this area being close to the highest elevation in Warren County, many of these caches may not be winter friendly, and you should definitely use caution about driving on some of these roads in winter even if you have four wheel drive. If a sign says no winter maintenance beyond this point, that is exactly what it means and you are on your own if you get stuck.
Please respect the rights of the landowners involved and do not block access gates or roads, park in driveways, or otherwise disturb the property owners. Use common sense, if there is limited parking area for you to park safely, move on down the road as far as needed and walk back to the cache or come back later.
Hatch Fun 2016 Puzzle
A little bit of local history. In 1681, King Charles II of England granted William Penn a provincial charter for what became the state of Pennsylvania. In 1787, the line between PA and NY was established. In 1788, Allegheny County was established from Westmoreland County and comprised all the land north of the Ohio and west of the Allegheny Rivers. This land was then annexed to Northumberland County in what was called the New Purchase. In 1795, Lycoming County was carved out of Northumberland County, and finally in 1800, several new counties were established by legislative decree. Among these was Warren County which was made up of the land west of the Allegheny River which came from Allegheny County and the area south and east of the River which came from Lycoming County. However, Warren County did not become an independent jurisdiction until 1819, and encompassed 902 square miles.
Brokenstraw was the original township in Warren County in 1800, and in 1808, it was divided into two townships. Then on March 8, 1821, these two townships were divided into 12 subdivisions, of which seven were soon after organized, and the remainder were attached to the organized townships. Kinzua Township was organized in 1821 and number 7 was attached to it. Elk Township was organized and separated from Kinzua Township on May 3, 1830. Later in January, 1855, seven Tracts of land were detached from Elk Township and annexed to Pine Grove Township. A warrantee township map of Elk Township was not considered official until it was surveyed. John Dorsey, a land speculator cut the township into 26 tracts of approximately 1000 acres each. A warrant for each of these was determined on March 18, 1794. Twenty-five of the 26 tracts were surveyed between August 8-11, 1795. The 26th Tract, number 17, was the Cornplanter Grant which contained 660 acres and 45 perches which was surveyed on July 12, 1795.
The first permanent settlers in the area were the Cornplanter Indians and Warren County became their official home after January 29, 1791, when Pennsylvania passed an act granting Chief Cornplanter slightly more than 900 acres. The highest point in Warren County is found in Elk Township and has an elevation of 2231 feet above sea level.
A= the last digit of the year that William Penn was granted a provincial charter to create the state of PA
B= the number of Townships in Warren County in 1820.
C= the third digit of the elevation of the highest point in Warren County.
D= the first digit in the number of extra rods or perches attached to the Cornplanter grant.
E= the last digit of the year that the Cornplanter grant was surveyed.
F= the last digit of the number of Tracts that John Dorsey cut Elk Township into to get warrants for each in 1794.
G= the number that was attached to Kinzua Township when it was organized in 1821.
H= the last digit of the year that Allegheny County was established from Westmoreland County.
I= the first digit in the number of acres of land granted to Chief Cornplanter.
J= the last digit of the year that Elk Township was organized and separated from Kinzua Township.
To find the actual cache location for this mystery cache, simply read the paragraphs above and solve for the values of A through J and substitute the missing value in these coordinates: N 41* 55.24H W 079* 01.393