Tantiusques Rocks Traditional Cache
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A small cache in Tantiusques in Sturbridge, MA
You will be looking for a small plastic tupperware style container at The Trustees of Reservations' Tantiusques. Tantiusques (“tan-te-us-quays”) is Nipmuc word meaning "a black deposit between two hills". This is one of New England's first known mining operations. The Nipmuc originally mined here for graphite to make ceremonial paints. In 1644, John Winthrop, Jr., son of the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, purchased the mine with hopes of extracting lead and iron. In the early 19th century, Captain Joseph Dixon and his son worked here before founding the J. D. Crucible Company of New Jersey, famous manufacturers of pencils. This company eventually evolved into Dixon Ticonderoga, the famous manufacturer of pencils. Today, careful observers can see the mine cuts, ditches, and tailings piles made by the various mining operations. The mineshaft that tunnels into the face of the low ridge is the most recent of all the excavations, dating to 1902. Most of the mining at Tantiusques was of the open trench variety. The cut along the top of the ridge is the partially filled-in remainder of what was once a several thousand foot-long trench, 20 to 50 feet in depth and roughly 6 feet in width, which followed the vein of graphite. One of your trail options is a 1.5 mile loop or follow trails into the nearby Leadmine WMA.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Furygrerq haqre ebpx
Treasures
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