"The soul that is within me no man can degrade."
This virtual geocache honors the great American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass who was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in February of 1817 or 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland between Hillsboro and Cordova, west of Tuckahoe Creek. After living as a slave in Talbot County and Baltimore, he escaped to New York City in 1838 at the age of approximately 20. He lived in Massachusetts and New York where he became famous for his oratory and antislave writings, becoming a national leader of the abolitionist movement. He wrote three autobiographies, the first, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), describing his experiences as a slave.
The first stage of this virtual geocache brings you to the Talbot County Courthouse in Easton, MD where a statue of Frederick Douglass was erected in 2011 to honor the area's native son and, in particular, his return as a free man on November 25, 1878 when he gave his "Self-Made Men" speech at the courthouse.
The second stage of this virtual is a short 0.5 mile walk to the Easton Rails-to-Trails trail to see a beautiful 27' x 9' mural that was painted and unveiled in 2021 to further honor the area's native son. The mural is in The Hill area of Easton which is America's first free black community. The bottom half of the mural depicts Douglass's life from slavery to his career as an abolitionist and newspaper editor at The North Star. The middle of the mural shows Douglass front and center with his first wife Anna Murray at the U.S. Capital to honor his fight to end slavery. The remainder of the mural is a tribute to black leaders who have built on Douglass's legacy.
To claim credit for this virtual cache, please email/message me answers to the following questions.
1. The brick walkway in the courthouse courtyard containing the Douglass statue extends between the two Vietnam memorial stone pillars.
a. What shape makes up the interior portion (not the permimeter) of the brick surface between the two pillars?
b. How many small cut brick pieces make up the interior portion?
2. At the mural, there is a locked fence gate to the left of the mural and two concrete loading dock platforms, one to the left and one to the right of the mural area.
a. What is the 3-digit number on the bottom of the padlock (not the combination)?
b. How many prominent rectangular indentations in total are located on the southern sides of the two concrete loading dock platforms?
While not required, a picture of your caching party at the locations is always welcome.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.