As COVID-19 evolves, it’s important for you to consider the risks and manage them appropriately. Remember to read all signage before entering any trail system.
When choosing to find PtboCountyCaches geocaches, we encourage you to:
- Stay home if you’re feeling sick
- Maintain 2m physical distancing with people outside of your social circle
- Carry hand sanitizer and use it before AND after contact with geocaches
Please note: cache containers are not officially sanitized at any time. If you do choose to open a cache, it is at your own risk.
This cache has been placed as part of an initiative by the County of Peterborough, its member municipalities, the City of Peterborough and local First Nation communities to celebrate Canada 150+. There are 23 geocaches placed throughout the region showcasing local history.
If you would like to participate in this initiative you can download a Travel Diary at (Geocaching at Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism). Find at least one geocache in each of the Townships, First Nations and in the City and stamp your Travel Diary. Once you have completed the Travel Diary, you can visit the Peterborough and the Kawartha’s Tourism office to pick up a limited geocoin. New coins in stock in 2018.
On the lid of the cache container you will see a stamp. If you have a stamp pad with you, great, use that to ink the stamp and stamp your Travel Diary. If not, use the crayon or the pencil in the cache container to "rub" the impression of the stamp on your Travel Diary.
At this site, from 1825 to the 1870s a saw mill constructed by Thomas Short, a local entrepreneur, existed on the east side of the Indian River. During the 1870s a fire destroyed this saw mill. In 1846 Thomas constructed the Lang Grist Mill using limestone from the Indian River to cut the elm staves which were sent to his cooperage to construct the wooden barrels, which were used to store and ship the flour ground at the Grist Mill. The empty barrels were transported from the cooperage to the mill by a private railway built by Thomas. At the Grist Mill the barrels were then filled with flour. Inscribed on the building above the entrance way on the South side of the Grist Mill is the date “A.D. 1846,” the date the main section of the mill was completed. Over the Mill’s first 50 years, there were many changes including additions of an oatmeal drying area and a boiler house. These additions would have flanked the entrance way (the outlines of the two foundations are still visible).
The Mill continued operation under new management in the 1860s after Thomas Short went bankrupt, but a devastating fire in 1896 left only charred walls. When the Mill re-opened, state of the art rollers replaced the four sets of grind stones. The oatmeal drying area was never restored. The Mill continued in operation until 1956. In 1964, the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA) purchased the Mill and restored it to its late 1890s appearance. Lang Pioneer Village gained management of the Mill property in 1985.