Geocache Description:
Welcome to Atlantic Canada’s Hidden Histories Geotour Part 2!
You’ve located another stop in this set of geocaches that are part of the Atlantic Canada’s Hidden Histories 2 GeoTour. Find the 9 geocaches which are located in Nova Scotia and earn a Geocoin.
To solve this multi, please visit the given coordinates and obtain the information from the sign. What is the year North Preston was established=xxxx Take xxxx minus 1016=aaa Take xxxx minus 799=bbb
Final coordinates are n44 44.aaa w63 27.bbb
About this location:
In 1856, Preston’s Second Baptist Church was established by Reverend Richard Preston and was named Second Preston Church with reverend Benson Smithers as the pastor. Second Preston Church was one of the original member churches of the African Baptist Association of Nova Scotia, founded by Reverend Richard Preston in 1854. Sometime in the 1860s, Second Preston Church was re-named South Church. In 1879, the congregation reorganized and built a new building in the New Road settlement, now called North Preston, under the leadership of Reverend James Thomas, a Welshman by birth,. The members of South Church renamed their church and new building Saint Thomas Baptist Church out of their love for and in memory of their former pastor Reverend James Thomas who died before the official opening of the new building. Reverend Alexander Bailey became the pastor of the reorganized church. Reverend Edward Dixon succeeded Reverend Bailey as pastor in 1886. (From Church Websight).
About North Preston by Charles Stevenson
In a way, this was a place where black people lived and disserted to a better standard of living once, they found a better place to move to. This area of land was first settled by the black loyalists in the early eighteenth century. According to (King & Limerick) it’s confirmed that 150 different families moved there during the first migration. Unfortunately, only half of the families living there were granted land. Preston was quite different compared to other black communities in Nova Scotia at the time. It was comprised of both white and black people, but equality was nonexistent. It was evident that the white people there were given much more compared to the black people living there. (King & Limerick) mention that over time more and more black refugees left leaving only a quarter of the original number of freed slaves that migrated there. Although the land remained empty and without people, that soon would change. Due to the number of maroons in Jamaica, the British tried to sign a peace treaty with the slaves that freed themselves. This was quickly broken after the maroons tried to free the rest of the slaves, they were eventually sent to North Preston by the British for breaking the peace treaty. They were also treated the same as the black loyalists that came before, but due to their rebellious nature, they would eventually be moved to Sierra Leone. (King & Limerick) mention that the migrators after the Jamaicans would remain indefinitely in North Preston. While the War of 1812 was occurring, the British decided to promise the slaves freedom with a chance to live on a land of their own. Once these slaves were transported to North Preston they remained there. The descendants of the slaves currently live in North Preston today.
More About the Geotour
You’ve located a stop in the ACHH Geotour, which as of Oct 21st, 2023 consists of 27 geocaches divided into two phases. Initially launched in July of 2022, this Geotour aims to highlight various diverse and sometimes relatively unknown histories in Atlantic Canada. It will continue to grow. The first 2 phases of the tour highlight Black History in Atlantic Canada. In Phase 1 there are two segments with six locations in New Brunswick, and eight locations in Nova Scotia. Each of these segments has their own geocoin and passport, the link for which is provided in relevant cache descriptions. Caches in Phase 1 start with ACHH: in their name. Caches in Phase 2 start with ACHH2: in their name. This cache is part of Phase 2.
In order to participate in the Tour, you will obtain a passport that you will take with you as you visit each location. When you find the geocache, in addition to signing the log sheet, you must sign your passport with the included passcode (under the geocache container lid at each location). Once you have a completed passport, you can submit it to receive your geocoin.
To learn more about Atlantic Canada’s Hidden Histories GeoTour, visit the website.
You can download the Nova Scotia passport: pdf.
You may pick up your Nova Scotia geocoin by making an appointment with (or mailing to) :
Kirrily Freeman
Professor, History Department
Director, Outreach and Experiential Learning, Faculty of Arts
923 Robie St,Saint Mary's University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3C4
Kirrily.Freeman@smu.ca
Alternatively you may mail your completed passport to the address above and your geocoin will be mailed to you.
Atlantic Canada’s Hidden Histories GeoTour is a collaborative project between the City of Fredericton, National Trust for Canada, the Capital Region Association of Geocachers, Saint Mary's University, and the Association of Nova Scotia Geocaching. We acknowledge that caches of this tour are placed in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. The territory of the Mi’kmaq people are recognized in the Peace and Friendship Treaties to establish an ongoing relationship of peace, friendship and mutual respect between equal nations.
