Haunting Hides The Harpers "You Can't Take it w/U" Traditional Geocache
Haunting Hides The Harpers "You Can't Take it w/U"
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One of many of our Haunting Hides. At this cache location you will see proof that you "Can't Take it With You" This is a small bottle top, BYOP.
The history of the Harpers Ferry Ghosts is well documented the following is the story of the Harpers.
In 1747, Robert Harper, an architect and millwright from Philadelphia, crossed the Potomac River at the place where it is joined by the beautiful Shenandoah. Known then as "The Hole," this point of land was then under the control of a squatter, Peter Stephens, who was operating a ferry from land belonging to Lord Fairfax.
So impressed with the wild beauty of the area and the potential water power the rivers promised, Harper purchased the Ferry and Stephen's squatter rights. Harper later received a 125 acre plat from Fairfax.
Arriving at this untamed wilderness from Philadelphia sometime later, Rachael Harper was said to have cried for days and begged her husband to return to civilization and abandon "The Hole" he chose for their new home. Instead, Harper built a Mill, and improved the Ferry service across the rivers.
After losing their cabin along the Shenandoah to flood, the Harpers later built a new and grander home high above the flood plain. The Harper House stands today as the oldest surviving structure in Harpers Ferry.
During the revolution laborers were hard to find and the aging Harper was forced to do much of the work himself with the result that his health began to fail, and fearing the roaming bands of renegades and plunderers, Harper instructed Rachael to bury all of their gold and tell no living soul of its whereabouts.
Wartime construction was slowed and Harper Died before the house was completed. Trying to finish the building herself, Mrs. Harper, Falling from a ladder, was killed instantly - carrying the secret of the buried gold to her grave.
During the 1800's it was widely believed that the building was haunted and was greatly feared by many local residents.
It is not uncommon today that visitors to Harpers Ferry claim that when passing under the walls of the old building, they have seen an old woman dressed in 18th century fashions, peering from an upper-most window. Her gaze seems fixed on the old Harper Garden.
It is reasonable to believe that the Harper Treasure was discovered long ago by some enterprising town resident, but Rachael Harper, ever true to her trust, seems to be guarding the gold steadfastly.
Please be sure to return the container just the way you found it. This is a very busy location so also please watch for muggles. I hope to keep this cache going.
This is a day light only cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Orgjrra gur Gerr naq fgbar jnyy.