Welcome to Livingston County’s Bicentennial GeoTrail!
My name is Find R. Fox. I’ll be your guide to super-sleuthing the hides at these amazing, historical locations all around our beautiful 200-year-old county!
To make your travel through history a bit easier, imagine yourself in a Time Machine (your best mode of transportation will do). Set the dial (your gps unit) to the first year (coordinates) listed below, check the waypoints for Parking and push the navigate button! Whirl your way there then switch your coordinates as needed to navigate to the geocache to sniff out the container and sign the log sheet. Good Luck & Enjoy the journey!!
You may visit the picnic area during daylight hours only. NOTE: Due to the currently OPEN pond, please keep an eye on young kids and pets.
The almost 50 years, from 1800 to 1846, saw enormous changes in West Sparta. The flat, fertile, swampy plain along the Canaseraga Creek, when well drained, proved to be ideal for farming. It was, however, unreliable as a place of residence due to regular floods that deposited new layers of rich sediment on the land. Early homesteads of any size were built along the Indian Road that ran across West Sparta roughly Northwest to Southeast at the Western edge of the swamp and slightly above the flood plain on the lower levels of the steep slopes. Shortly, however, settlers followed other Indian trails that took the paths of least resistance up the slopes. They found an upland area sliced West to East by numerous treacherous gullies and bounding creeks into islands of relatively level land fit for farming. Entrepreneurs saw the exuberant gullies filled with waterfalls as providing opportunities to power commercial enterprises and various mills were built along the largest, most reliable waterways.
One of the earliest settlements was called West Sparta and was a trading area that grew up midway along the Indian Road near the mill on Butter Brook. The first wool-carding and cloth-dressing mill was established by Benjamin Hungerford in 1814. Millard Fillmore, U.S. President 1850-1853 served four months as an apprentice at Hungerford's mill. Many early land owners bought plots of land on speculation and likely many did so sight unseen. Perhaps it was these or their younger sons who eventually pushed even further up the hills to difficult heights that nevertheless afforded fertile land and breathtaking views of the whole region. Here, they too staked a claim and the whole of what would become West Sparta was now peopled. The 1852 Atlas of West Sparta shows homesteads and farms throughout.
West Sparta is roughly rectangular in shape with its Eastern border being Canaseraga Creek, and therefore, an irregular line slanting in a southeast to northwest direction. In the early years, travel was difficult at all times and impossible some of the time. As settlers multiplied, they developed four hamlets each serving a distinct area of West Sparta that meant the conveniences of community life were within walking or riding distance. Woodville and Kysorville were likely the earliest. Woodville grew up at the Southeast corner of West Sparta next to the Canaseraga Creek along the Indian Road. It derived its name from early settlers John, Rufus, and Asa Wood. The Union Church of Woodville was built by the Evangelical Association of Woodville about 1850.
There have been at least nine cemeteries identified, including some that were quite small and were probably family plots. There are five that are now able to be visited and are being maintained. There is one cemetery for each of the hamlets or settlements listed above: Woodville, Kysorville, Union Corners, and Byersville. A few years ago, the town of West Sparta was undertaking a restoration of its four historic cemeteries in Byersville, Kysorville, Union Corners, and Woodsville (sometimes listed as Woodville).
“There is a lot of history in these cemeteries that needs to be saved for future generations,” said West Sparta Town Supervisor Sue Erdle. “We also want to make the cemeteries places of interest for our residents and tourists.”
The original section of the Town hall, now used as the Court room, was built in 1926 as a Town Hall. The larger addition was constructed in 2011 and contains offices, bathrooms, a conference room, small kitchen, and a lobby with local history displays created by our Town Historian.
Out front of the Town Hall, be sure to look at the millstone on display and read the historical background on it. You can also visit the Little Free Library (where there is also a geocache hidden, for a twofer if you haven't already gotten it).
West Sparta is proud of their new pavilion, especially proud that it was built as a community project with generous donations of money from residents and local businesses, and by volunteer labor. As well as providing a location for their “Music In The Park” concerts, and West Sparta Historical Society events, the pavilion is also available for use by Town residents for family gatherings and celebrations. They still have plans for additional improvements in and around the pavilion, to make this location a true community park.
Even more recently than the pavilion, West Sparta has decided to create a quiet picnic area with a view of the pond. This is where you will go for your nature excursion. Long pants, a long sleeved shirt, and boots are highly recommended, as the mowed path was not very wide and the grass was tall.
Walking towards where the sun would set along the wide gravel path towards the pond. You may hear a frog croak.
When the wide gravel path runs out, veer to that side of the pond where you can see a small green sign and keep walking beside the pond.
When you come to the corner of the pond, turn to continue your path beside the pond.
Keep walking until you come to a bench.
Old School
You see a path to one side, turn towards it to walk under more trees, including more pine trees. Breathe in the scent of pine.
Ahead of you, you see a picnic table. Before you reach it, your attention is drawn by an old stump to one side. Look closely at it to find what you seek. The stamp is nature themed, too!
New School
Have a seat while you contemplate where those coordinates might be.
The stamp and the stamp pad are NOT swag. They need to remain in the geocache for all to use in letterboxing.
This cache is 1 of 36 caches comprising the Livingston County Bicentennial GeoTrail (LivCo200) placed in the summer of 2021 in honor of Livingston County’s Bicentennial by members of the local geocaching group called the Bee Hive. For more information about Livingston County’s Bicentennial, visit the County Historian’s Bicentennial web page on the Livingston County New York website at https://www.livingstoncounty.us/1115/County-Bicentennial
