"Hail to the Sunrise" Traditional Geocache
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(regular)
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Located on Rt 2 at Mohawk Park in Charlemont. Flat, easy. Scenic area.
Medium sized 5x5 inch clear tupperware with lid. Contains logbook inside ziplock bag and geocache goodies. Travelbugs are welcome here!
Mohawk Indian statue at: 42' 38.382 x 72' 54.791.
Park off main road, walk to park.
“Hail to the Sunrise”
Charlemont, Massachusetts
Sculpture by Joseph P. Polia, 1932
Located on the famous Mohawk Trail, facing East overlooking the Deerfield river at the site of the old Indian fordway, Hail to the Sunrise depicts a Mohawk Indian beckoning with uplifted arms in supplication to the Great Spirit the new-born day of hope and peace for America.
It is a monument to the Five Indian Nations of the Mohawk Trail. The inscription on the arrowhead tablet at the statue’s base reads: “Hail to the Sunrise - In Memory of the Mohawk Indian.” This eight foot statue is a 900 pound bronze casting erected on a nine-ton boulder. The memorial includes a pool with 100 inscribed stones from various tribes and councils from throughout the United States.
After years of fundraising, it was erected by the Improved Order of the Red Men and their women’s auxiliary, the Allied Councils of Pocahontas of the Old Deerfield conference.
Impressive unveiling ceremonies were held on October 1, 1932, with the surrounding hills ablaze with foliage of highly-painted Indian colors. Joe Mitchell Chapple in his address at the unveiling said; “Hail to the Sunrise symbolizes the hopefulness of humanity though the ages. This is an occasion when we commemorate the Red Man – not only the organization that has kept alive the great fundamental traditions of Freedom, Friendship, and Charity, but the race of Red Men from whom we have taken and inherited the boundless territory of this great republic.”
The Improved Order of Red Men and Degree of Pocahontas were consolidated in 1834 from the St. Tamina Society, the Sons of Liberty and the Society of Red Men. Washington, Hancock and Adams were early promoters and organizers of this Order.
The Improved Order is the United States oldest benevolent society of distinctively American origin. Congress granted the Order Charter “To Inspire Fraternity and Greater Love of the Principals of American Liberty.”
Research courtesy of Gerald G. Moothart, Past Great Inchochee, Great Council United States and the History of the Improved Order of the Red Men and Pocahontas by Robert E. Davis, Norma Coli, Charlemont Historical Commission and the Blue Heron Farm, The Mohawk Trail by William B. Browne, Elder Printing Co, the Greenfield Recorder Gazette.
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Also very closeby:
Mohawk Trail State Forest, off Route 2, offers a scenic picnic area beside the Deerfield River, 56 campsites, swimming, fishing, hunting, nature study, hiking, boating, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on 6,457 acres in Charlemont, Savoy, Florida and Hawley. Call 413-339-5504 for further information.
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Charlemont, Massachusetts information and history:
The first settlers were Captain Moses Rice and his family from Rutland, who cleared lands and built a house there in 1743. At the time, the nearest town was Deerfield, 22 miles away. In August of 1746, the Rices were warned that hostile Indians were approaching from the north. They fled to Deerfield. Unfortunately, their home, crops, tools and everything they left behind were destroyed by the Indians.
Three years later, the family returned and settled permanently. About the same time, Othneil and Joshua Taylor arrived and built houses. Around 1750, Eleazer Hawks and his sons, Gershom, Seth and Joshua, came from Deerfield. By 1752, there were about a dozen families in Charlemont.
Because Charlemont was a Frontier settlement and vulnerable to attack, a series of fortifications were built for protection. Some of these were "mounts," a diminutive kind of blockhouse. Others were stockaded dwelling houses.
In June of 1755, a group of people working in a meadow in the upper part of Charlemont near Rice's fort were attacked by a party of Indians. Captain Rice and Phineas Arms were killed. Titus King and Asa Rice, who was 9 years old, were captured and taken to Canada. Asa Rice was ransomed six years later and returned to Charlemont. King was eventually sent to France, then to England, and from there returned to his native town of Northampton.
Many men from Charlemont fought at Bunker Hill and Bennington, Vermont during the Revolutionary War.
Agriculture was the principal business of the inhabitants until modern times.
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Internet Link for Mohawk Trail Region Guide:
(2.3M PDF)
(visit link)
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***** FOR EXTRA ADVENTURE / "WAY TO GO!": *****
Find the very closeby "Mohawk's Cave" at N42' 38.609 x W72' 54.775
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Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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