HCWHA US 250th GeoTour
The Union Mills Homestead
Party like it’s 1776 with the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area’s 250th GeoTour! Designed for beginner and veteran geocachers, participants will travel through time, solving puzzles and following clues to learn more about mid-Maryland’s rich history. In honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, our 250th GeoTour will take you throughout Carroll, Frederick, and Washington Counties to sites of historical significance, including battlefields, houses of worship, museums, parks, and more!
Our tour is an opportunity to learn more about the people, places, and events that laid the foundation for our country. While supplies last, those who collect 15 or more will earn this Geotour’s limited edition geocoin commemorating the 250th. Happy hunting!
The Union Mills Homestead is a historic complex that features original buildings and artifacts dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1797, brothers David and Andrew Shriver had a four-room house and a grist mill built along Big Pipe Creek and the property would flourish as their industry grew. The Shrivers used cutting edge milling technology of the era, largely influencing the technological innovation of Carroll County.
Six generations of Shrivers would live on the property, and with success came expansion. Throughout the 1800s, a tannery, sawmill, cooper’s shop, blacksmith’s shop, and miller’s house were built to sustain the Shriver’s growing industry. Today, the miller’s house is one of four remaining original buildings, along with a tannery bark shed, the grist mill and the Shriver home.
Dating potentially to the 1820s, the miller’s house is where the operational miller would live. Due to the advanced machinery of the mill, the grist mill required less physical labor than other mills of the era. Instead, the miller’s role was to maintain the mill, including necessary stone dressing, or sharpening, and lubricating. The mill ceased operation in 1942 when the rear wall collapsed. Today the mill has been restored and is once again operational.
The miller’s house offers patrons a glimpse into the lives of German immigrants and their descendants during the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the innovations of the Industrial Revolution during the 1800s. Union Mills Homestead represents the roots of American innovation and technology, which owes much to the efforts of immigrants and farmers like the Shrivers.
“The Shriver Family.” The Union Mills Homestead. https://unionmills.org/shriver-family/.
“The Homestead.” The Union Mills Homestead. https://unionmills.org/homestead/.
“The Miller’s House Restoration Project.” The Union Mills Homestead. https://unionmills.org/millers-house- restoration/
“The Evolution of Maryland Rural Life.” The Union Mills Homestead. https://unionmills.org/md-rural-life/.
The cache is only available during daylight hours. Please be discrete and respectful when events are occurring at the homestead.
Thanks to the following members of the Maryland Geocaching Society in placing the hides for this GeoTour: deepdish23, hunterKat, GR8Caches, Snurt, Phos4s, JediTrashPanda and AL's Guide.