This cache is one of 10 caches of the Cache in on Brentwood History placed by the Brentwood Historic Commission. The series features many of the Historical Interpretive Signs placed around Brentwood. Discover some of the fascinating history of Brentwood. The caches are hidden in Brentwood City Parks. If you are participating in the series, be sure to sure to download and print your passport. Don’t forget to record the secret code found in the lid of each geocache, on your passport, for validation.. All caches begin with the series name CBH followed by a location specific name. The Brentwood Historic Commission hopes you enjoy the series!
Most Parks are open dawn to dusk but check specific Park hours. Follow Park hours-NO NIGHT CACHING.
This is a 3 stage multi-cache. You must visit the different stages and answer the questions to determine the combination lock code for the geocache and the final coordinates. A pencil will prove useful as you gather information. If you trade for items from the Geocache, remember to trade items that are of equal or greater value. When approaching the geocache site start looking as there is distance variances in different GPS devices. Ample parking is available in the public parking lot.
Stage 1: N35° 59.728 W086° 47.363
As you arrive, imagine you are in the year 1350. You are walking through the center of a busy Mississippian period prehistoric Native American village. The Mississippian period is the final chapter of human prehistory in the Eastern North America. Remains of the village were discovered when construction began on the library in 1997. A large scale archeological evaluation followed and found the site to be occupied over approximately 150 year period during the 14th and mid-15th centuries. This was a substantial settlement with at least five hundred residents that established the site on a ridge and broad terrace overlooking the Little Harpeth with two large spring fed tributaries. Here they lived and cultivated the land. The residents were protected by a palisade wall that enclosed the primary village area. One of the distinguishing features is burial in stone box graves which are more numerous in the Valley of the Cumberland than other southern Mississippian sites. Substantial cemeteries of several acres of stone box graves were established along the ridge with dwellings built along the ridge and terrace. This is one of several Mississippian period occupations nearby that are evenly spaced along the Little Harpeth River suggesting the Little Harpeth River Valley as an area of Mississippian activity. From artifacts found, the area may have had temporary use during earlier Archaic and Woodland periods limited to hunting camps and brief respites from foraging expeditions.
Take a short walk towards the front door of the building and look to the ground where you will find a shadow sundial. It is also known as an Analemetic sundial. On sunny days, you can tell the time by standing on the paver of the current month while facing the numbers. Look where your shadow casts on the numbers in front of you. Can you tell what time it is?
While on your walk you will need to answer the following questions:
- Number of sides on a typical Native American house on this site _____ =A
- What number is above the month of June on the shadow sundial? _____ =B
- (A minus 1) _____ =F
Sumcheck A+B+F=8
Stage 2: N35° 59.667 W086° 47.414
Turn around and go back to the sign and head west on the trail. Continue towards waypoint 2. If you have time, take the right fork off the trail which is a circular trail through the Arboretum which features more than 50 tree varieties certified by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council. The Arboretum offers an excellent opportunity to learn how to recognize native trees that grow here. Most tagged trees are close to the walking trail. After taking the loop trail you should arrive back to where you started in the Arboretum. Turn right and continue on the trail to Waypoint 2.
You have arrived at a historic refrigerator. Well really it is a “spring house” built over the source of the spring and used for cooling of perishable food items. It is located over the origin of one of two robust springs on the property. Springs provided a natural well of unlimited water and were essential to early housing not only for the water source but also the cooling ability. The spring’s location helped to dictate the location of the house and outbuildings with animals to ensure no contamination of the water occurred. Into the 1900s as Brentwood grew, so did the need for water sources. Some springs became sources of water for multiple houses. Sometimes pumps were added at the spring source to assist the water flow to places further away. Such is in the case of the Baptist Children’s home on Franklin Road that also used water from this spring. Supplying water continued a problem until the 1970s when the City of Brentwood entered into a contract to purchase water from the Harpeth Valley Utility District. When electricity finally arrived to more rural areas bringing refrigeration units, the need for spring houses became a thing of the past. Now an outdoor classroom looks down to the picturesque building of the past.
While on your walk you will need to answer the following questions
- On the trail behind the building, what number is the Sycamore tree labeled? _____=C
- How many feet deep was the typical pool in the spring house? _____=D
- How many wood benches do you count at the outdoor classroom? _____=E
Sumcheck C+D+E=17
Stage 3 N35° 5C.EBD W086° A7.FDF
Fill in the equation with the corresponding number from the above questions to find the final cache site.
N35° 5C.EBD N35° 5__.__ __ __ W086° A7.FDF W086° __7.__ __ __
Proceed to the coordinates.
Lock Code=BCEF
****Congratulations to noroominframefortwo for first ever FTF!****