AMNHA: Pole Bridge Creek Cascades
Series: Past and Present Passages
Password: Located in the logbook
Hours: Sunrise to Sunset
Parking Options: See waypoints / Free
Pole Bridge Creek: A Hidden Gem
Pole Bridge Creek is a large creek that creates beautiful waterfalls. This spot in DeKalb is a hidden natural treasure. In 2004, many glass bottles were found along the creek, showing that the area was used a lot many years ago. Recently, though, the spot had been mostly forgotten.
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Getting There
To find the geocache, park on Evans Mill Road. The parking area, finished in late 2004, is at the western end of the Flat Rock Spur, a part of the Arabia Mountain PATH Trail. The trail to the waterfalls and geocache starts just 100 feet east of the parking lot. Look for orange marks on the trees to stay on the trail as you head toward the geocache.
Explore the Area
When you’re done with the geocache, you can walk east along the bike trail for about 1.5 miles to see the covered bridge over Stephenson Creek. You can also follow the Cascades Hiking Trail, which connects to the bike trail, and then continue east to the bridge. The bridge is 55 feet long and was designed by Horace King, a former slave who built many covered bridges in the South during the 1800s. As you walk, you’ll see old trees that have been here since the early 1900s, when people lived in this area.
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Evans Mill
Before you leave, take a short hike to see the ruins of Evans Mill, which was built in the late 1800s. There’s a trail that leads to a moss-covered rock wall, which is the remains of a dam that once held water for the mill. This trail starts at the parking lot entrance. Along the way, you’ll pass a tree with a trunk that grows sideways! From some rocks by the creek, you can get a great view of the waterfalls. On the other side of the creek, you can spot more parts of the old dam and a stone channel that carried water to the mill.
The mill was located near the south end of the dam, at the foot of the cascades. The sign near the site might confuse you, suggesting the mill was on the north side. The pond behind the dam filled with mud over time, and the mill stopped working. Now, picnic tables sit on top of the sediment left behind. In the early 1930s, the mill was repaired and a new dam was built upstream. A turbine and generator were added to provide electricity to the mill, a nearby store, and the mill owner’s home. One elderly local remembers that the water wheel might have still been used, but he’s not sure. The mill was abandoned in the late 1940s, and over time, only the remains of the two dams, the stone channel, and part of the mill’s machinery remain.
Imagine the Past
As you look at the creek today, try to imagine what it looked like more than 100 years ago, when the mill was still working and the area was full of life. .
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Are You Ready To Find More Geocaches?
Come explore the Arabia Mountain PATH and earn trackable prizes along the way!
The AMNHA Geo-PATH is a geocaching program spread along the entire 30+ miles of the Arabia Mountain PATH hike/bike trail. We have many geocaches waiting for you to find.
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