SSB - Mount Harmon Traditional Geocache

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Star-Spangled Banner: The current owner no longer wants to geocache here. Thanks for everyone who stopped by and found this geocache.

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Hidden : 5/7/2010
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

The Star-Spangled Banner Geotrail
Mount Harmon Plantation

During the first challenge along the Star-Spangled Banner GeoTrail, over 400 first edition SSB geocoins were awarded. We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Star-Spangled Banner GeoTour. We are currently out of geocoins but stay tuned for other opportunities along the Star-Spangled Banner GeoTour!



Come on a journey to remember and commemorate the dramatic chain of events, people and places that led to the birth of our National Anthem.

The story of the Star-Spangled Banner was shaped by the events of the Chesapeake Campaign during the War of 1812. From February 1813 until February 1815, the Chesapeake Bay was the center of a fierce struggle between the British and Americans. Places and landscapes still exist today that provide a touchstone to the past. The trail traces events and related sites that figured prominently in the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812 that have national significance, physical integrity, and the potential for contemporary recreation and interpretation.



Situated on a peninsula formed by creeks and inlets of the Sassafras River in Cecil County, Maryland, Mount Harmon plantation boasts one of the most scenic views in the state of the Maryland. In early May of 1813, however, the sights visible from the manor house would not have been nearly so picturesque. A British flotilla, under the command of Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, was on the move, sailing up the Sassafras (in close proximity to the plantation) to wreak havoc on communities further upstream, including Georgetown and Fredricktown, both of which would soon be destroyed. This, following Cockburn’s burning of Havre de Grace at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, served notice to towns, villages and farms up and down Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries that they too might soon be targets of the Admiral, spreading dread across the region.

With numerous farms and a thriving maritime trade, Chesapeake Bay communities were prime targets for the British throughout the war. In addition, many of the American privateers (private warships authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping interests), also hailed from Chesapeake ports, raising the ire of the British Navy and marking the Bay as a target for attack. Raids along the coast began in earnest in 1813 and continued for the better part of two years, devastating countless farms and towns in Maryland and Virginia. The leader in many of these efforts was Admiral Cockburn, a veteran of Britain’s long running conflict with France, who did not shy away from destructive hit and run tactics.

Mount Harmon Plantation originated as a land grant of 350 acres to Godfrey Harmon by Caecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, in 1651. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the plantation consists of a c. 1730 manor house, a colonial kitchen, a formal boxwood garden, a rare tobacco prize house and a 200-acre nature preserve. Built in the Georgian style, the house is furnished with American, English, Irish and Scottish antiques, restored to reflect its colonial period. Among its many activities, the plantation hosts visitor and educational programs, bird watching, hiking, picnicking, weddings and special events.

You are seeking a traditional hide. The entrance to the plantation is located at N 39 24.402 W 075 56.391. When driving down the almost 2 mile lane, use the road to the left at the Mansion house and park in the lot behind the gardens. Parking N 39 22.913 W 075 56.165.

A network of nature trails provides easy access to the plantation’s pristine natural surroundings – a historic Tidewater landscape, little changed by time. The trails allow visitors to explore the plantation’s scenic waterfront, rare tobacco prize house, and diverse ecosystems full of wildlife. Several rare and formerly endangered species live at Mount Harmon. A pair of American bald eagles nests in the vicinity and can be seen hunting over the plantation. The American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea), a relative of the water lily and the largest wildflower in the United States, is rare in Maryland and neighboring states but abundant at Mount Harmon with its peak flowering in August. Wildlife is abundant at Mount Harmon. The entire plantation is a nature preserve, and all forms of plants and animals on the property are protected. Visitors are requested not to pick the flowers or otherwise disturb plants and animals.




Thanks to the Dam Trolls for helping with this hide and to the Maryland Geocaching Society for assisting with this project!

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