The posted coordinates will bring you to the Brooklin Cattle Pound located in North Brooklin on the east side of Route 175. This is a field puzzle. You will need to read the cattle pound history below and gather some information seen onsite in order to figure out the final cache coordinates.
Important things to note:
- No night caching
- No need to touch or move any stones in the pound
- Parking is available in front of or next to the cattle pound
Cattle Pound History
The history of cattle pounds dates back to the 1600's. In the earliest, 17th century settlements of southern New England, cattle, sheep and swine were grazed on commonly held town lands (“town commons”) located outside the denser residential areas. Inevitably some livestock found their way into cultivated fields and gardens. This had the potential to threaten both the animal and human food supplies in these communities, many of which existed at the subsistence level during the early decades of settlement.
By 1635, the courts of Massachusetts Bay ordered that every town under its jurisdiction construct a strong impoundment in which the wayfaring beasts could be held until claimed by their owner and returned to the pasture. This action was the origin of a class of common, publicly-supported and ordained structures found in almost every agricultural community in New England: the Town Cattle Pound. With the exception of extreme southern and coastal locations, the majority of Maine’s development started in 1750. Although heavily settled by immigrants from the southern New England States, the patterns of land distribution in Maine had shifted. Few towns designated common pastures, rather individual settlers were expected to care for their own livestock.
Cattle Pound Field Puzzle
A = Subtract the year the courts of Massachusetts Bay order towns to construct cattle pounds from the year the Brooklin Cattle Pound was built
B = Subtract the year when Maine's cattle pound development started from the year the Brooklin Cattle Pound was restored
C = Add B to the last three numbers in the posted West coordinates
D = B - A
FINAL: N 44 18.C W068 34.D
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.