Welcome to Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens’ Geocaching Adventure!
The Seiberlings' appreciation of nature was a guiding principle for their enjoyment of life. Our education department is offering several new and engaging ways for guests of all ages to rediscover the Estate (like Earthcaching & Geocaching) while learning how one family's passion has evolved into a shared legacy.
This Earthcache is found at The Lagoons, on the north side of the Estate.
We are located at 714 North Portage Path, Akron, Ohio 44303. The Main Gate entrance is at the corner of Portage Path and Garman Road. After entering, simply follow the signs to guest parking and to the Carriage House to purchase your admission ticket. Many tour options are available from guided Manor House & Grand Estate tours to Self Guided Grounds tour.
For Geocachers, the best tour is the Self Guided Grounds tour. Admission is required to geocache on property. This will give you access to the grounds to hunt our geocaches at your own pace. With this tour not only do you get the historic gardens and grounds to explore, you also get access to the Gate Lodge and the Corbin Conservatory (greenhouse).
Please check our main website at http://www.stanhywet.org for more detailed information on admissions and visiting.
Please note, some weekends we have special events going on that may interfere with geocaching due to expected large crowds. Please check our event calendar on our main website if that is a concern.
Open April through December, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is one of the most important remaining examples of an American Country Estate built during the Industrial Age at the turn of the twentieth century. Stan Hywet was home to F.A. Seiberling, co-founder of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and his family
Pathtags on sale at Molly's
We also have an Adventure Lab on site!
________________
Some Definitions & explanations that will help you in understanding this Earthcache.
A. Sandstone - a sedimentary rock composed of sand or quartz grains held together by a mineral cement.
B. Conglomerate - stone made up of smaller and larger particles
C. Pebble - fragment of rock typically rounded .16 of an inch up to 2.5 inches.
D. Quartz - common glassy, typically clear, white, to gray, rock forming mineral of pure silica
E. Silica - Silicon dioxide, a hard mineral common as cement in sandstones.
F. Sharon Formation = formed during the Pennsylvanian period of the Paleozoic Era, about 300 million years ago. Sandstone embedded with conglomerates. Mostly quartz crystal pebbles which are sometimes referred to as “Lucky Stones”.
G. Sharon sandstone - Smooth faced, lacking the quartz pebbles
H. Sharon conglomerate - Sandstone full of quartz pebbles.
I. Bedrock - Solid rock underlying loose deposits such as soil
History of the Quarry & Lagoons
Stan Hywet is located on an isolated knob of Sharon Formation sandstone. This knob is on the continental divide separating the watersheds of the Cuyahoga and Tuscararwas Rivers. In the 1890s, the Akron White Sand and Stone Company quarried and crushed Sharon Formation stone to produce silica sand. Silica sand is used in the creation of glass, pottery, cement, fire or furnace brick within iron & steel works . White building stone was quarried here as well. Following the original operation, the Akron White Sand Co. continued to quarry what would eventually become Stan Hywet's Lagoon and Japanese Garden areas until 1911.
Stan Hywet is the American Country Estate built by F.A. Seiberling, co-founder of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and his wife Gertrude between 1912 and 1915. The name "Stan Hywet" (pronounced stan hee-wit) is Anglo-Saxon for stone quarry. When building the house and other buildings on the Estate, the old quarry stone crusher machine was reactivated to ground up stone excavated from the lagoon area to produce much needed sand and gravel for mortar. The stone forming the fence surrounding the Estate as well as a few other features located on the property was a bi-product of the work that was done when the manor house's foundation and subbasement level was cut into the Sharon bedrock. On the other hand, much of the fine grained and smooth sandstone trim found throughout the Estate was brought in from other regions, primarily New York and Berea, Ohio.
The old quarry pits, located on the south, north and west of Stan Hywet's Manor House, were integrated into the Estate's landscape design by famous American landscape architect Warren Manning. Manning turned several of the quarry pits into prominent features including the Dell, English Garden, Japanese Garden and the Lagoon. The North Overlook features two twin "Tea Houses," fashioned from the pebbly Sharon Formation, which are perched above the old quarry walls of the Lagoon. The water features and terrace below once formed the floor of the north end of the old quarry. A retainer wall was built to enlarge and extend the Lagoon south around the back of the property.
Based on family photographs, the Lagoon was a popular place for swimming, fishing, canoeing and ice skating. Today, the Lagoon is used for many outdoor activities like strolling, photography, & nature watching. It is also the perfect backdrop to Stan Hywet's annual Shakespeare festival. Sharon sandstone is very permeable and fractured so, in order to maintain Manning's original intent, the lagoons have to be continually replenished with water. This is done by recirculating water from nearby "duck ponds."
To Log this Earthcache, complete the steps below and then email the answers to us through our profile. All answers can be obtained while walking the waypoints and information provided on this Earthcache page.
1. Proceed to Waypoint #1 (found at N41 07.245 W081 32.958). You’ll find yourself on a single lane paved road. Turn to look due west and you’ll see the lagoons directly in front of you. The S.H. Admin building should be behind you. Here, take an elevation reading using your GPS. Take note of the altitude in feet. This location is the (approximate) original level of the quarry before digging occurred.
2. Proceed to Waypoint #2 (found at N41 07.239 W081 32.978). Here you should be standing looking south with a wall of Sharon Formation in front of you. This wall of rock is about 12 feet tall. Observe the rock face here, see the texture and composition of the rock. Answer these questions… A. Is it smooth like sandstone or rough & pebbly like conglomerate? B. Would the rock found here be best for bricks or trim, like found at the manor?
3. Proceed to Waypoint #3 (found at N41 07.241 W081 33.004). Here you should be directly below the twin Tea Houses, just down from the changing rooms. Looking at the rocks stacked (by hand) directly in front of you. In your best estimation, were these rocks quarried here Yes or No? Explain your answer please.
4. Proceed to Waypoint #4 (found at N41 07.254 W081 32.994). Similar to Step #2, Observe the rock face here, see the texture and the composition of the rock. Answer these questions… A. Is it smooth like sandstone or rough & pebbly like conglomerate? B. Would the rock found here be best for bricks or trim, like found at the manor?
5. Proceed to Waypoint #5 (found at N41 07.263 W081 32.999). Take an elevation reading using your GPS. Take note of the altitude in feet. Now take your altitude reading from Waypoint #1, subtract your current altitude from here. Then add 15 feet, which is the depth of the lagoons. This will give you the depth of the quarry, how deep they dug. What is it?
Failure to answer any of the questions will result in your log deletion without notice. Per Earthcaching policy, you have 5 days after logging your visit to send us your answers. If you have any questions, please contact us for we are happy to help. Thank you.
If you would like a deeper understanding of the Sharon Formation found here at Stan Hywet, please reference this excellent nearby Earthcache by Dame Deco : This Deck has an Ocean View GC32AZF
Reference: Guide to the Building Stones and Cultural Geology of Akron by Joseph T. Hannibal