HCWHA - Wheaton Park Mystery Cache

The Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area Geotrail
Wheaton Park

You're invited to take a journey through the Maryland's Heart of the Civil War.

The Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area Geotrail was first launched in the fall of 2016 with geocaches hidden within Maryland's Carroll, Frederick, and Washington Counties. In the spring of 2021, the Geotrail was updated with five additional geocaches and an Adventure Lab. 

The Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area (HCWHA) is an area rich in history, covering portions of Maryland’s Carroll, Frederick and Washington Counties. It is located just below the Mason-Dixon Line, generally viewed as the dividing line between North and South, and above the Potomac River. With one foot in the north, and one foot in the south, the story of the Civil War can be told nowhere better than in this part of Maryland. 

Between 1861 and 1865, the Civil War impacted every Maryland resident, many directly as a result of the war that was waged within the state’s borders. Some families faced financial ruin after troops ravaged their land. Thousands of fathers, sons and brothers became casualties of war. For enslaved Marylanders, the conflict ultimately brought about freedom as the new state constitution of November 1864 abolished slavery.

This region witnessed three major military movements during the Civil War: the Maryland (also known as Antietam) Campaign in the fall of 1862, the Gettysburg Campaign in the summer of 1863, and the march to Washington led by Jubal Early in the summer of 1864.Geocachers can visit significant sites from each of these three operations on the Heart of the Civil War GeoTrail.

The mission of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area is to promote the stewardship of our historic, cultural, and natural Civil War resources; encourage superior visitor experiences; and stimulate tourism, economic prosperity, and educational development, thereby improving the quality of life in our community for the benefit of both residents and visitors.

Geocachers who find the locations of at least 13 HCWHA caches are eligible for a free prize and may purchase a Geocoin (while supplies last of both). To record and redeem the finds, Geocachers must download a passport from the Heart of the Civil War website and record the code word from at least 13 HCWHA geocaches. Geocachers may have their passports validated in person at the Newcomer House at Antietam National Battlefield or at the Visitor Centers in Westminster or Frederick. See the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area’s website for details on Geocoin and free prize availability.

Participating in the HCWHA 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.

Wheaton Park in the Historic Jonathan Street Neighborhood is dedicated in honor of Jacob Francis Wheaton (1835-1924) who is believed to be the first African American to vote in Maryland after the Civil War, voting in the Hagerstown Mayoral Election of 1868. Wheaton went on to become the first African American to sit on a trial jury in the county and to become a court officer, serving as a bailiff in Washington County from the 1890s to 1924. Wheaton is buried in the nearby Rose Hill Cemetery.

The lovely gazebo, the original band shell from Hagerstown City Park, also holds a historic place in the community as a regular performance site for the Moxley Band. Formed in 1854 by enslaved brothers Robert, Joseph and Perry Moxley, the primarily cornet and drum band was recruited into the United States Army in 1863 in exchange for its members' freedom. As the first all-Black recruiting band for the U.S. Colored Troops its members were given the rank of private and paid $10 a month to perform in parades, reviews and ceremonies.

The Moxley Band stayed together for over 50 years following the war, practicing in a building owned by Robert Moxley's son Edgar at 335 N. Jonathan Street. The house was demolished in 2019 after a vehicle crashed into it making the building unsafe for habitation. 

A drum and two cornets from the original band are held in the collection of the Doleman Black Heritage Museum, which has a temporary home at 33 W. Washington Street in downtown Hagerstown. Across the street from Wheaton Park at 465 Pennsylvania Avenue stands the eventual permanent home of the Doleman Museum.

Geocachers may be interested in following the Hagerstown Underground Railroad Trail: Sites of Freedom and Resistance. This urban trail can be walked or driven. It takes you to sites in downtown Hagerstown connected with escapes from slavery, with people who escaped, and with people who helped them. There are original buildings still standing at many of the stops on the trail.

Thanks to the following members of the Maryland Geocaching Society in placing the hides for this Geotrail Refresh: deepdish23, hunterKat, lpyankeefan, and tazscouter.