Real History Traditional Cache
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NOTE!!
I need some help with this cache.
I am 70 years old and can't get around like I could twenty years ago when I placed this cache.
I am asking the community,
"Is there anyone out there that would take ownership of this cache?"
I feel it is too important to simply disable it.
Please contact me if you have interest. 🙂
A drive-through on paved roads, with a very short walk to the hide.
Real History
This Cache is located in a genuine “Slave Cemetery” that dates back to way before the War Between the States. There are many graves that are marked with simple stones. No names, as wooden markers were the custom of the time, and are long gone. There is one recent marker in the North West corner, undoubtably a descendant of the families, but even that has the name faded away.
This location has a power and a dignity that commands reverence, respect and a deep sense of a controversial history.
I will share what I know of the local history. Please forgive me if I have some of the facts wrong.
The place was owned by a prominent local family before and after the war. If you look across the north / south road, you will find another cemetery with a couple of Confederate veteran’s markers. Watt Kemp lies there.
After the war, of course Watt had to set the slaves free. The majority of them chose to stay. They had no place to go, but also they had been treated well. Perhaps they were afraid to go, as the times were troubled. But the fact is that they stayed, and their descendants still populate the area.
If you head east down the hill you will find the “Kemp Bridge” that crosses Darlings Creek. Just upstream there was a water wheel sawmill (long gone now) that was used by the family for personal and commercial work. Watt gave each of the families that stayed a small piece of land and enough lumber from the sawmill to build a small private house.
Of course, times were hard after the war, and the property was broken up and sold off piece by piece. The final blow was the great depression of the late ‘20s and early ‘30s. There was no money, and the remainder of the property was sold to “The Company” to raise money to pay property taxes. “The Company” was Southern Timbers, a logging and lumber company that eventually changed to Crown Zellerbach, then Cavenham, now Weyerhaeuser.
An interesting side note. One of the small houses that were built after the war remained standing long after the “Big House” and the rest of the small houses had fallen away. This cabin was still standing maybe 15 / 20 years ago and caught the eye on a historical society up north somewhere. The representatives of the historical society (I don’t have the details) were overjoyed that they had found an original slave cabin, purchased it and carted it off somewhere for use as a historical building. The owners (descendants of the original inhabitants) of the cabin were not about to spoil the fun (and lose the $$) so they played along with the notion that the cabin was indeed a “slave cabin”.
I can only imagine what the proud owners would say if they knew that their prize is not a slave cabin at all, and further that it is actually testimony to an example of treatment that (in this case) was not nearly as harsh as depicted in some of the history books.
Ah, but I digress . . . . . . . please enjoy the area and the history that it portrays.
Oh, the roads in the area carry a surprising amount of traffic on Sunday before and after church hours. Please drive carefully. On the other hand, during the week you might get in and out without seeing another car or person.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
8 sg hc
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