HCWHA US 250th GeoTour
Snook Farm
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!
Courtesy of Allen C. Browne, Historical Marker Database
Utica Farm Park holds six generations of Snook family memories on the property. Born in 1747, Simon Snook, son of Henry Snook, a German immigrant, was 30 years old when he enlisted in the Frederick County militia.
Under Captain Mordecai Beall of the 37th Battalion of the Militia, Simon would have remained within Maryland during his one year term in 1777 to defend against attacks from British as well as Hessian soldiers. Hessian forces were contracted by the British government to buffer their ranks. Hailing from Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau, these armies were from present-day Germany; many captured Hessians chose to remain in the United States after the war, integrating into the German communities already settled in mid-Maryland.
After his enlistment, Simon Snook bought the property near Utica Park in 1777 and his descendants would later build out the family farm and add a smokehouse, milk house, and many other structures.
Ordinary people like Simon Snook played their role in the American Revolution and returned to their farms, families, and communities like Frederick, where the influence of German immigrants and their descendants can still be felt, solidifying the American identity we know today as a product of cultural hybridization.
“Journal of the Committee of Observation of the Middle District of Frederick County, Maryland September 12, 1775-October 24, 1776.” Maryland Historical Journal 11, no. 4 (December 1916): 316. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5800/sc5881/000001/000000/000044/pdf/msa_sc_5881_1_44.pdf.
Partlett, Nannette Seibert. “Dedication of Utica Farm Park.” the New Forest Society (2007). https://www.emmitsburg.net/nfs/projects/utica/utica_park.htm
“Snook Family Farm.” The Historical Marker Database (2025). https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=184503
“Snook Family & Farmhouse.” The Historical Marker Database (2021). https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=184893.
Turner, Henry Ashbury, Peter John Heather, et al. “Germany.” Britannica. (Aug. 2025). https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany.
The Geocache
The geocache is not at the posted coordinates. At the posted coordinates is an interpretive sign. From the interpretive sign, you may either do a projection to get to the final location or follow the directions below.
Method #1 - Projection
Project a point at a bearing of 218.247983º and a distance of 873.521562 feet
Method #2 - Follow the directions
From the sign, follow the path behind the farm house. If you need to take a bathroom break, you have an opportunity not to far down the path.
At the first crossroads head to the right towards the Snook Family Farm Agricultural Center sign and the bridge.
Once you cross the bridge you will be met by two sheep. At that crossroads head towards the left.
Continue down the path until you get to a sign titled, My Dear Friend, Remember Me.
At the sign the paved path heads to the right and a grass pathway is behind the sign. Take the grass pathway.
Continue on the grass pathway until you get to a point where the path heads to the left and right.
Straight ahead you should see the trees in the spoiler photo in the cache page gallery. The cache is there.
Please do not take the stamp and ink pad. They are not for trade.
The geocache has been approved by Frederick County Parks and Recreation. Utica Park is open from 8AM-10:30PM daily.
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.