Bible Rock
I had the pleasure of spending a day with author and naturalist Beth L. down in the Middletown CT area, exploring areas of historic and geologic interest. I will let Beth (being a much better writer than I am) tell the story through her own blog: healingnaturect
Bible Rock - early 1900s postcard
Seven Falls on Bible Rock Brook - early 1900s postcard
The beginning of the vacation season arrived for me with a return to Essex County and Cape Ann. As seems the case in recent years rain played a factor and a good one-third of my time was left useless by heavy rain. Additionally, the conditions for kayaking were very marginal and that played into diminished activities on that front.
However, the first day was superb and that allowed me to make my way to Cape Ann by way of Middlesex County. First up was a quick look at an early lime quarry site. Next: I had in hand an antique photo of a huge boulder mentioning it as being located about a mile north of Long Sought For Pond. This happens to be the location (roughly) of two large erratics I visited in 2007 with the names House and Barn. It is likely the photo was of the Barn, smaller of the two, but not enough is there to make it a more positive ID.
Afterwards, I continued on to finally land in Pigeon Cove for looks at my old favorites along the rocky shoreline. Traveling over to the west side of Cape Ann and Lanes Cove where I inspected the damaged breakwater and rehabilitation project on a fishing shack
The next day and a half proved to be a complete rain out but by the third day I had mosied on up to the Pigeon Cove area once again for a quick look at the Profile Rock and further photos (sans foliage) of Rowe's Tomb. Working a possible lead on Boiling Spring in the area, I found a couple different areas (both with multiple resurges) that may have been it. But once again nothing matched with an old postcard which really doesn't give too much to go on.
The fourth day brought a much anticipated return to kayaking with an adventure carefully planned to make the best use of limited weather conditions. The trip involved the Fox Creek and part of an old historic canal connecting two major rivers in the area. The Fox led to the Ipswich River, quite close to its mouth, and from there it was on into the Atlantic Ocean for a brief spell. Following, was a quick trip up to Newbury to see Carsey's Rock. There are four or five rock outcroppings surrounded in the salt marshes and I am assuming at this point, Carsey's is the easternmost, and most isolated, of the group.
The trip back to my lodgings found me examining a boyhood hideout of a former Gloucester resident. At the site was a large deposit of glacial boulders with several lean-to type of caves. An unexpected surprise was a small quarry in an adjacent area.
The final day found me in a local cemetery where I had heard "geologic formations" existed. It turned out I had passed by this burial site numerous times without realizing what lay secreted farther in the back. Numerous - and some very large - erratics lay amongst the gravestone, often being incorporated into the landscape. Some had plaques another was make part of a man-made stone edging around a burial plot.
A trip to Pools Hill for a quick look at the old hospital ruins followed. Also in the immediate area was a large, quarried erratic and old well. Afterwards I may the trip once again up the rocks of Pigeon Cove but farther that the on my first day. Here I ended up by a blue quartz dike (probable Metoric Stone) and Dick's Dream with the Spouting Rock putting on a decent show. The trip was finished with a quick return to the Profile Rock for photos and to tie the kayak down for the trip home.
Spring is about to officially begin. I've lined up the initial projects. But in recent days Spring does not seem any closer than it was a month ago.
However, starving for some real fresh air and exercise, I made two trips up into the northern region of the Berkshires. One was to locate a beautiful double arch stone bridge and a second to scope out the countryside for marble.
The bridge was successfully located after a bit of searching. One of its sides now being reinforced with a cement surface and (apparently) some metal 'implants'. I'll look this one over more carefully come warmer weather when I can get down into thew river that flows underneath.
The marble expedition was successful and some beautiful white marble located. Along the way I dropped in to one of Massachusetts' premiere geologic features: the Natural Bridge on Hudson Brook. Much history to be had as Hawthorne one trekked through the chasm, calling it a 'cave'. Once in my youth I visited with my Father while the site was still in private hands. Present day finds it a State park although at this time of the year it is officially closed so one has to walk in a short distance.
One of the biggest tourist sites in Newport is, of course, the Cliff Walk, along with the Forty Steps. At lower tides, many like to step off the Steps and down around the corner to view a small cave formation that carries water out to the Ocean. Some wish to call this Conrad's Cave, even alluding to it being the Conrad's Cave from the Victorian Age of Newport. Since it's a 'free country' I'm comfortable with calling it whatever one wishes. BUT it cannot be the cave written of in history. Now why is that?
Once again I will delve into the photographic archives of Newport history for the answer to this one. Existing is a photo postcard showing the location of the modern day cave but back around a hundred years ago. And there is NO cave present at that period in time. Using the 'then & now' process, we can identify the postcard as being the site at the bottom of the Forty Steps. We can also seen the water exuding from the rocks much like it still does in modern times. But the cave has yet to be 'formed'.
Although I do not yet have a personal modern photo of the site (high tide and rough seas prevented me on my last visit), one does exist through this link to Flickr.
And for further information on Conrad's, do visit: Conrad's Cave
Certainly the 'dye-in-the-wool' caver would cringe at yet another classification of caves. Especially one that couldn't be more 'karst-less' than a pile of boulders. Yet many of these rock formations provide ample passageways for true exploration. And since they owe their origin to the randomness of glacial action, and not the disintegration of cliffs, they cannot come under the heading of talus caves.
History, itself, records many of these formations as 'caves' and the greater majority of them lie in the eastern half of the state. In fact a statewide survey of caves begun over seven years ago, reveals the majority of caves in eastern Massachusetts are of the glacial boulder variety.
Coming as no surprise, tradition and archeological evidence, link our Native Americans to many of these natural rock formations. Most famous of these, both in history and caves, was Wampanoag tribe leader Metacom or King Philip. His caves stretch across the southeast region of Massachusetts. One in Freetown consists of a chamber located under a single rock. Farther to the northwest in Norton is one of his better know sites where it is said he stayed on his fishing trips to nearby Winnecunnet Pond. Three large blue-gray boulders of the Rhode Island Formation forms the cave.
Moving farther to the east we find two King Philip sites in close proximity at Sharon. In each case it is a piling up of rocks forming a crude enclosure and in each case they bear the name King Philip's Rock. Another more spectacular formation exists in Uxbridge where it is also know as King Philip's Rock. The history here is Philip, along with braves, stayed at this site just before carrying out an attack at a nearby town.
Metacom was not the only Native American to have his cave and the inevitable Indian caves do exist. Brockton's is comprised of three gigantic erractics piled upon one another while Plymouth's Cleft Rock provided shelter in a 19-foot passage within a fractured boulder. Saugus too has its Indian shelter amongst the rocks that now plays home to an old discarded refrigerator!
Other sites of 'erratic inhabitations' include an early settler of Sturbridge - later Southbridge - at Deneson Rock, a homeless man named Theodore at Odie's Den in Cohasset, wolfs at Wolf Rock Den in Carlisle, and the obligatory Bear's Den with its bear at Essex.
Finally, we may want to ponder the question of how dubious a cave can be and still be a cave. Cape Ann is perhaps the rockiest region in the state and boulders piled on - or around - other boulders is not that all uncommon. The famed Dogtown area has one rock formation where suicidal Abram Wharf crawled in to die after slitting his throat. Then there is the category of single erratics, so enormous in nature that they contain their own cavities or passages underneath. Of notable interest would be Peabody's Ship Rock and House Rock in Weymouth. These two rank among the largest erratics in the state and contain their own versions of 'pseudo' caves.
This article originally appeared in the Northeastern Caver
With the relative quite of Winter upon us (at least for this explorer) let's see what topics of interest might be covered at this time. Since there seems be an interest - and following - from the Ocean State, let us look at the history of caving in that State. And yes I'm being serious - for a change.
My roots in caving and history go back a long way now. Just under .... 50 years now. But both developed alongside of one another right from that first cave visit out in the Marble Heart of the Berkshires. And history has always been one of my greatest tools for locating those caves. So starting with perhaps the 'Father' of modern day caving (and one of my influences) and it's history - Clay Perry. Let's see what old Clay had to say on Rhode Island caves. Really - not much. Between two books published in 1939 and 1946 he lists the same four identical entries:
The Spouting Cave - near Newport
Purgatory - west end Sachuset Beach
Hanging Rocks
Pirates' Cave
[Hanging Rocks is an obvious feature in Middletown and I would assume the Pirates' Cave mentioned is the Newport location]
Now if we leave Clay for but a minute I'll flash forward to the late 1990's. By that time I had been exposed to the myths and legends of Rhode Island 'caves' but never really put any effort to investigate further. It was on one cold Winter day I was involved in an engaging instant message discussion with Steve Stokowski, then of the Boston Grotto. Steve had come upon (likely another Grotto member) some pages from a history of an area in northwest Rhode Island. The Wallum Lake area to be exact. In these pages were the the description and pictures of caves in the vicinity of that Lake.
Now it had been said many times that Little Rhody was the only (or one of two) States that did not have a cave. So greatly excited by the prospect of finding a 'real' cave. The Clay Perry references had never seen much credibility as far as caving went but I had learned by that time the definition of a cave was highly subjective.
So there were a number of years spent trying to locate a variety of caves in northwest: Coon Cave, Counterfeiters Den (still not located), and Cooper's Den . The search that eventually expanded down to the very southwest sections of the State: Dinosaur Caves, along with minor features Pioneer Caves and Glacier Cave. Once again sifting through the pages of history brought the mention of a cave(s) in the Warwick area and a Pirate Cave down in the Jamestown area.
It was just before the middle part of the Century's first decade that more and more time was spent down along the ocean. At this point I got my first look at the Hanging Rocks, Purgatory, a bit of the Pirates' Cave, and (from a distance) the rocks of Spouting Cave, also more commonly know as Spouting Rock. It seems some stories persist of this 'formation' (realistically a 'sea-spout') being at least partially destroyed. Everything from the hurricane of '38 to a landowner dynamiting it were the reported causes.
Other sources provided what was to be one of the 'premiere' - but entirely difficult it not dangerous caves to access: a bona fide sea cave in the Narragansett Bay area. It was at this time after countless walks and climbs along the rocky coastlines, a sea approach was considered a serious necessity. So in the summer of 2010 I joined the ranks of kayakers and accessed that sea cave within the Narragansett Bay one early August morning as dawn and low tide coincided. This time period also saw my interest expand into locating sea formed caves, an interest that persists to this day.
Rounding out the 'cave' search were a number of rock shelters and minor features, primarily throughout central to south-western Rhode Island. Some of these were sites that did see Native American use long ago.
So although the preceding doesn't cover every nook and cranny I've stuck my head into, it does provide a summary from which to go forward. Ciao.
1/24/2021: MORE Rhode Caving!
Now being eight years since the original posting on Rhode Island caves, I thought it'd be worthwhile to give a few updates:
Some of the rocky shelters out in central and central-western RI proved to be a worthwhile trip. Speaking of far western, the quite close to the Connecticut line a very small cave (aren't they all?) turned up along the Tippecansett Trail. To the east, a large Native American shelter and many more minor cave formations. The Arcadia Management area seems to be a good area to locate such features. Speaking of Native American shelters, one - recorded in old history - was located in the Ashaway section of Hopkinton.
The long lost Counterfeiters Den (mentioned in the classic "Wallum Pond Estates" book) was found by a friend! This is one of those sites that will be kept 'unknow' to but a few because of its vast historical significance.
Kayaking eventually brought many explorations of the coastline where small caves (the largest mentioned above) turned up. Most often, it was something that could not legitimately be called a 'cave' but I'll frequently throw it out there as a 'quasi-cave' formation. Many of these exist in the Narragansett Bay area. Spouting Rock/Cave was visited. Or as close as one might want to take a boat. I still need to get a close-up inspection on Pirates Cave. Conditions never seem to be just right.`
Sometimes the line between 'a rock' and 'a cave' get blurred and such was the case in one formation southwest of Warwick. Of course, Warwick was known for its Rocky Point 'caves'. Mostly small and marginal at best.
Old friends: one that I first met about ten years ago at Sachem Rock in East Bridgewater recently renewed contact. At that first meeting, I found out about past relatives, and old photographs, from my home in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Several of those old photographs are now part of my own collection.
Recently I was sent a copy of another old photo by the friend showing a Victorian Age relative standing next to her bicycle at a rocky location. It was conjectured that it might be Reynold's Rock (Cheshire) but a trip out there proved it probably wasn't.
I did drop in to the rocks at Balance Rock Park (as past photos showed relatives visiting that site) and was once again unable to match anything with the photograph. Surprising on this visit were the vast number of trees that have fallen since my previous trip. One was a pine over fifty feet tall whose top now lays upon Split Rock, which once boasted its own large tree growing forth from its large namesake crack. Picking my way through downed trees, I eventually landed at Cross Rock.
