The Geocache
This geocache is not located at the listed coordinates. The listed coordinates will lead you to the starting point of the letterbox adventure. To locate the geocache container, read the story and follow the directions below. The total walking distance to the cache is less than a half mile.
Since this is a Letterbox Hybrid geocache, the cache container contains a stamp and inkpad. Please do not take the stamp or inkpad!! To obtain the CAM code for this geocache, use the stamp.
Introduction:
Who is Abijah Herrington? It is commonly held that he was a sergeant in the Sandy Creek Rangers during the Revolutionary War and that he settled in the area and became a wealthy land owner. He is rumored to have built the manor home near this spot during the 1750's. However the lack of records regarding his military service and the absence of any property records make him a mystery.
Read the following story from one of the descendants of Abijah Herrington who came to the park looking to uncover more information about his family heritage. Retrace his steps and find the cache and perhaps some notes he left behind.
The Story:
Cam Herrington first visited this area back in early 1977. A friend had sent him a newspaper article about the dedication of a monument located in a western Maryland park. Initially Cam was confused because he lived in Oklahoma. Why would his friend send him a newspaper article about a monument commemorating the beginnings of state forestry in Maryland? After reading the first paragraph, he understood why. The monument was located in Herrington Manor State Park.
Cam had been researching the history of the Herrington name for many years, so naturally he wondered if the park was named after one of his relatives. An empty reference in Cam's family tree to an ‘A.P. Herrington’ matched the rough timeline of the mysterious Abijah Herrington. This was enough to convince Cam that he needed to dig further. Over the next few weeks he made many telephone calls in an attempt to uncover additional details, but his efforts were coming up empty. He decided to take an unscheduled vacation and visit the park looking for more information.
After a long drive in his car, Cam arrived at a parking lot near the lake. He found the stone monument described in the newspaper article and marked the location in his notes.
1. Start at the monument located at N39° 27.456', W079° 27.110'
Cam always kept a meticulous record of his research, so he could re-trace his steps if necessary. He grabbed a compass from his backpack and made a note of his position and heading as he walked toward the lake.
2. Walk NORTHWEST across the dam
Cam followed the path on top of the dam that the Civilian Conservation Corps built back in the late 1930s. He was headed toward a bridge that crossed over the dam spillway. When he finally reached the bridge, he made note of the company that manufactured the bridge ‘Continental Custom Bridge Co.’ After crossing the bridge, he turned left and followed a split rail fence to the end of the spillway.
3. Cross the bridge and turn left
Cam stood for a minute and watched the water pouring over the dam breast and wondered what the area looked like during the 1700s. After continuing past the dam breast, he turned left to walk back towards the lake.
4. Walk along the fence past the dam breast
5. Turn left toward the lake
Cam noticed a pole ahead that stood in brush by edge of the water. He walked right up to the pole and noticed that it had two wooden boxes attached to house bats and a platform on top to allow birds to nest.
6. Walk over to the pole
From the pole a path can be seen heading into the woods. Cam noted his compass heading of 250.14° and started walking. The trail soon disappeared, but he continued for roughly 225ft to an area of tall pine trees. Stopping momentarily for a rest, he sat down on some fallen trees and laid his compass down beside him.
7. While standing next to the pole, make a note of your present coordinates
8. Project 225ft on a heading of 250.14° to determine the location of the cache
9. Enter the woods to find the cache
As he moved to stand up, Cam accidentally bumped the compass, and it slid off the back of the log, making a metallic ‘clank’ as it fell into the tangle of broken branches. As he shifted aside the branches to retrieve his compass, Cam was surprised to find a green metal box with a hinged lid.
Herrington Manor State Park is open from 8am to sunset. There is a year-round per-vehicle charge for entrance into the park: $3 for Maryland residents, $5 for out-of-state visitors. On weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day the charges are per-person.