For your protection and the protection of others, please use gloves and/or hand sanitizer before and after handling each cache.
This Cache is placed as part of the 2021 Taconic Region Geocaching Challenge. Please see
JJH1 for more information. This cache contains a unique stamp which must stay with the cache. Use this stamp to mark your passport. This stamp is NOT a trade item.
Please watch small children closely when approaching this cache!
John Jay owned a 760-acre farm, where he retired in 1801. Much of the land was leased to tenant farmers, who mainly grew wheat. But Jay also operated a dairy farm, producing butter and cheese for the NYC market. The railroad reached Bedford in 1847, making it possible to ship fluid milk to the city. At the time, the farm was owned by John Jay’s son, William. To support the milk business, Spruce Creek was dammed to create the ice pond you see at this cache location. Here, blocks of ice were harvested in the winter, and stored in an ice house. (The ice house no longer exists.) Large blocks of ice, insulated with sawdust, would last through the summer to keep milk cool for transport.
Today, the state historic site occupies 62 acres of the Founding Father’s original farm.