GCAW1F3 The Old Lybster Mill (Traditional Cache) in Ontario, Canada created by The_Eh

GCAW1F3 ▼

A cache by The_Eh_theist Message this owner

Hidden : 8/1/2024

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Now the location of a hotel and restaurant, it was previously the site of Domtar Fine Papers, where my father worked and supported our family for over 40 years.

Many years prior to that, it was the location of the Lybster Cotton Mill. The Lybster Mill was built in 1866 and was one of the first cotton mills built in Canada. In 1860 when it was built, the mill industry was growing due the an increase in settlers and it was a prime location due to the location of the Welland Canal nearby. This mill has an interesting story because during the American Civil War, there was a shortage of cotton in America and this allowed the Lybster Mill to thrive without its usual American competition.

The shortage of cotton mentioned above was due to the withdrawal of the Southern States from the United States in 1861 to form form the Confederate States of America. Cotton was extremely important as it provided revenue for arms, military, and economic power. The Southern States tried to convince Great Britain to form an alliance with them by cutting off their supply of cotton (77% of their 800 million pounds was supplied by the American South prior to the American Civil War). To do this, approximately 2.5 million cotton bales were burned to create a shortage of cotton. Long story short, this did not accomplish what the American South was trying to accomplish and due to the shortage and "The price of cotton soared from 10 cents a pound in 1860 to $1.89 a pound in 1863-1864", and the British looked elsewhere for a cotton supplier at this time.

The Lybster mill was very successful until 1869, when the war was over and the returning American competition resulted in the temporary closure of the Lybster Mill. Around 1870, the Lybster Mill was back to production and remained this way throughout the Depression. The Lincoln Paper Company purchased this mill around 1908 and it became a paper mill. In 1911, additions were added on to the existing mill. The mill switched owners several times over the years, and later became known as "Howard Smith Papers", which later became the Dominion Tar and Chemical Company, known as "Domtar". In 2002, the mill closed down and was abandoned until 2004, when the addition that the Lincoln Paper Company had added was removed, and it took 8 years to renovate the original cotton mill into the inn you currently see.

Have fun and happy caching!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

abegujrfg fhccbeg

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)