HCWHA US 250th GeoTour
Catoctin Furnace
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!
Completed by 1776, Catoctin Furnace was in blast in time to provide ammunition to General George Washington and his army. At least 271 enslaved people of African ancestry made up the bulk of Catoctin Furnace's earliest workers, some of whom may have been brought directly from Africa for their valuable ironworking skills. The operation of the furnace depended heavily on the labor of enslaved and freed African Americans until the middle of the nineteenth century, when their labor was replaced by that of European immigrants.
Visitors see the original Isabella stack built in 1857. The restored casting shed (where the molten iron was cast into pig iron) is a replica, reconstructed for the Bicentennial.
The nearby Catoctin Furnace African American cemetery represents what is thought to be the most complete African American cemetery connected with early industry in the United States. The labor pool, enslaved and free, included skilled artisans such as forge workers, colliers, masons, and carpenters. The Catoctin Furnace Historical Society is committed to increasing public awareness of the role African Americans played in the iron industry at Catoctin Furnace and to highlight the contribution of these skills to the development of the United States.
The Geocache
At the given coordinates you will find an interpretive sign with an historic marker and three more interpretive signs heading left on the trail. The following questions will be on these signs.
Question 1 - “Catoctin Furnace African American Cemetery Interpretive Trail” How many (at least) enslaved people of African ancestry made up the bulk of the earliest workers here?
Question 2 - “Catoctin Furnace” Governor Thomas Johnson supplied 100 tons of shells from here - where were these shells used?
Question 3 - “Dirty and Dangerous” “Dirty and Dangerous” is certainly one way to describe the work at this furnace. This site had as many as 4 stacks at one point in its history. Of those, only 1 remains, having been restored, along with its casting shed, for our nation’s bicentennial. Of the two named stacks, what is the name of the remaining one?
Question 4 - “The Watchful Eye” “The Watchful Eye” gives you a glimpse into some of the other activities of the people who worked here. As you read this sign, look to your left and uphill, where you will see the remains of the home of the Ironmaster. From here, the master could see everything going on with the slaves and workers, from work to home life. Examples of newspaper notices of owners looking for runaway slaves are shown, too. One such notice mentions a slave calling himself Peter Dorsey. At the same time, another slave disappeared. What was his name?
Question 5 - “A Diverse and Skilled Workforce” “A Diverse and Skilled Workforce” describes some of the many tasks that are part of smelting iron. One of the jobs here was to turn newly chopped wood into charcoal. What was the person (singular) who did this called?
To get final coordinates, enter your answers as a string (lowercase, no spaces) into the checker below. Use the exact method you find on the story boards (numbers & letters).
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.
Thanks to the following members of the Maryland Geocaching Society in placing the hides for this Geotrail: deepdish23, hunterKat, GR8Caches, Snurt, Phos4s, JediTrashPanda and AL's Guide.
Please be aware, Cunningham Falls State Park, which Catoctin Furnace is connected to by a trail, is known to be the habitat of the two venomous snakes in Maryland, the timber rattler and the copperhead.