The Find Your Chesapeake Geotrail
Occoquan Regional Park
The Chesapeake Bay, the great rivers that feed it, and the vast landscapes surrounding them are at the center of our nation’s story. More than 2,600 miles of designated water trails, 55 units of the National Park System, and scores of state parks, local parks, and wildlife refuges are found within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Each takes part in conserving special places for visitors, residents, and future generations. The Chesapeake Bay region is filled with rich history and heritage, opportunities for education and science, and beautiful scenery suitable for explorers of all ages. Join us in discovering the Chesapeake region when you “Find Your Chesapeake” and take advantage of our beautiful treasure.
The Find Your Chesapeake (FYC) Geotrail launched June 9, 2018 with over 60 caches within Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania. and Delaware. A trackable geocoin will be awarded to the first 300 geocachers, while supplies last, for locating at least 20 FYC caches. To be eligible for the coin, geocachers must download a passport from the Find Your Chesapeake Geotrail website. Geocachers must find and log at least 20 finds, record the code word from each cache on their passport. After discovering the 20 required caches, geocachers may have their passports validated via mail at the National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Office located at 410 Severn Ave, Suite 314, Annapolis, MD 21403. Please refer to the passport for complete validation instructions.
Participating in the FYC Geotrail is fun and we hope that many people join in. However, it is not a requirement for logging your find on this cache once you find the container.
In 1917, women suffragists were the first political group to protest in front of the White House. As a result, hundreds of women seeking the right to vote were imprisoned at both the D.C. Jail and the Occoquan Workhouse... part of the Lorton Prison complex. News reports of poor conditions and hunger strikes by the imprisoned suffragists were a turning point in the struggle for women's right to vote. These events led to the 19th Amendment, allowing women the right to vote. Next time you vote, think about these brave women who suffered here for women’s right to vote and eventually made history in the United States.
The Geocache
The starting coordinates take you to the kilns located in the park. You will be looking for information at the kilns, (N 38° 40.908' W 77° 15.198'), and at the dedication plaque, (N 38° 40.898' W 77° 15.186') nearby.
- A = # kilns that operated on this site multiplied by the # that are still operational here today.
- B = 3rd digit mentioned in the decade that operations on this site ceased.
- C = is the fewest # of days that the bricks would be baked here.
- X = is last digit in the year that the person the center is named after was born.
- Y = # of letters in name of type of brick kiln located here. (Hint: Buzz)
- Z = # of cities that have folks serving on the board.
The coordinates for the final location are N38° 41.ABC, W77° 15.XYZ
The checksum of ABCXYZ is 23.
Thanks to Hooclass2002 for helping with this hide.
Occoquan Regional Park is open from dawn to dusk daily from March 12th until November 4th, and from 8am until dusk daily from November 5th until March 11th.