Welcome to Atlantic Canada’s Hidden Histories Geotour!
You’ve located a stop in the ACHH Geotour, which, as of July 19,2025 consists of 39 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 that involve marginalised populations or communities. The number of caches in the geotour will continue to grow. The first two phases of the tour highlight Black History in Atlantic Canada. This cache is part of Phase 2. A map and the complete list of geotour caches can be found here. Caches which are prefaced by ACHH: are part of Phase 1 and those of Phase 2 are prefaced by ACHH2:
About this location
The Kings County Courthouse and Jail once stood not far from here, somewhere in the vicinity of the back of the current Macdonald Consolidated School. The jail's most notorious prisoner was Henry Moon,also known as Henry Moor Smith. In her 1963 book, The Lunar Rogue, author Barbara Grantmyre chronicles the life of Henry Moon who she says is part of the folklore of the region and deserves to be remembered.
The book begins: "On the Eve of May 4th, 1815, a man loaded with chains lay in a dark, dank cell in Kingston Gaol, Kingston, New Brunswick. The next day he was to be tried for his life. He was a liar, a cheat and a thief. He had charm but no warmth of heart, remarkable powers but little commonsense. He had a craving for mischief. He lacked morals, principles, ethics and is nowhere remembered for a kind deed. Yet he was no monster of iniquity. His crimes seem pretty petty today and we no longer think a noose the fitting penalty for such small sins against society.
Nor do we believe ... as some did then ... that he was in league with the devil. His exploits smack less of brimstone, than applied psychology, more of bamboozling than witchcraft, and after more than a century he is an intriguing puzzle, an interesting if minor figure in the folklore of the Maritimes.
He might have been forgotten. The most colorful figure fades into obscurity if preserved only by word of mouth,....."
How true we know this to be in our pursuit of this geotour's hidden histories.
It is fortunate that Walter Bates, High Sheriff of Kings County, New Brunswick chose to write a little book about his most troublesome prisoner and then Barbara Grantmyre used it as the foundation for her book. She provides great insight into life in Kingston in 1814-15 as we learn a great deal about people of white Loyalist stock and just a few brief mentions of some of the Black inhabitants of the time. This includes "Black Amy" who was a servant of Reverend Elias Scovil. It was this Reverend Scovil ( there were three generations of them) who first allowed Black people to worship at Trinity Anglican Church. We also learn that when Henry Moon was a fugitive, it was "a mulatto, Jack Paterson," of the Fredericton area who captured him and returned him to the "Gaol in Kingston." Moon had been hiding in Paterson's hay shed and when discovered tried to run away but Paterson overtook him.
Speaking of Fredericton, The Lunar Rogue Pub got its name from the exploits of Henry Moon, who did the bulk of his thievery in the dead of night. You can visit the Pub's website to get a condensed version of the story.
https://www.lunarrogue.com/about-the-lunar-rogue-pub/the-story-of-the-lunar-rogue
You must visit 7 of the 10 locations in the Black History Stories of the Kingston Peninsula Adventure Lab in order to get the co-ordinates for this cache. Inside you will find the code word which is the final requirement for completing a Geocoin Challenge, the passport for which you will find at https://www.kingstonnb.ca/more/geocaching. The coin challenge was launched on July 19,2025 at event GCATNWX with 100 coins available.
You will find the geocache at N45 3A.BCD W65 58.EFG
As you stand here at the heart of the Historic District of Kingston, take a moment to think of what it must have been like in 1814-15. Would you trade your life in today's somewhat turbulent world for that of "Black Amy", or "mulatto, Jack Paterson"?
More About ACHH Phase 2
This phase provides some flexibility for participants to choose caches which will earn them sufficient points to earn a reward. Full details are not yet available but be sure to take note of the Claim code as you will need to fill it in on the passport when it does become available. Stay tuned! We recommend that you use the Personal Note box to record your Claim Code, which in this case is the same code as is required for the Geocoin Challenge
***Congratulations to Hades917 for the FTF!***