Cedar Hill Cemetery Letterboxes
Planted September 6th and 7th, 2002 by rtrw and skw

Difficulty - easy - one degree harder than easy. Don't worry, you'll
find them.
Time - an hour and a half if you are just out to bag some boxes.
More if you want to get to know the place, it's luminaries and trees.
Distance - I meant to check this, but forgot. You tell me.

Any problems or box needs can be emailed to rtrw@attbi.com. We are
new enough letterboxers that we know mistakes are likely. Thanks for
your patience. Enjoy this beautiful place.

Cedar Hill Cemetery is located at 453 Fairfield Avenue, Hartford,
Connecticut. I checked the Yahoo Map feature, and it gave me good
directions.
You can find a printable and helpful map and other information at
www.cedarhillcemetery.org/TourMap.htm.
Entrance is through the main gate only
The gate is open from 7:00 a.m. to dusk daily
Dogs aren't allowed. Sorry, pups.


I have enjoyed this cemetery for years (I know that sounds a little
morbid). I hope you will find it as beautiful and educational as I
have. Before you head into the cemetery, please be aware that though
there is substantial historical value here Cedar Hill is a modern
cemetery, as well. Please be conscientious of, and compassionate to
those who may be mourning or visiting the gravesite of loved ones.
Thanks.

Turn into Cedar Hill Cemetery. Here, on the right side of the big
bowl/fountain, you may pick up your Guide for Visitors and Guide to
Notable Trees. Proceed to the place on the right where you may park
your car. Hop out, grab your bag and hit the path, heading in the
same direction.


Protecting Angel Letterbox

This is my "ungifted artist" attempt to copy a very beautiful and
dramatic feature of this cemetery. Hopefully you will know what I
was going for if you go by the real thing later. Heads up, there is
poison ivy in front of the reclining log, so step gingerly and don't
wear sandals. Trust me in this. I wore sandals to plant. Again.
You would think I would know better by now.

The Clues:
Very, very shortly after the parking area you will see a cement
bridge over a stream on your left. There are wooden posts with a
chain between them. I'm not sure if the chain is always there, but
no matter, follow the path into the somewhat wooded area. I counted
65 steps from the bridge and looked left. I saw a fallen tree and
hid
something for you at the southern end.


Horace Wells Letterbox

Wells was born at the turn of the nineteenth century. A Hartford
resident, he was a dentist whose discovery of anesthesia banished
surgical pain, revolutionized surgery, and brought safety and comfort
to the operating room. Wells became known as the best dentist in
Hartford -- an area that was known for excellent dentistry. He
championed the slogan, "the clean tooth does not decay!" which was
used into the twentieth century to encourage children to clean their
teeth. Because of his creativity, Wells even designed his own
instruments and discovered dental procedures to aid in these methods.
Up to the 1840's, surgery was very painful to the patient, forcing
surgeons to hurry through the procedure, thereby not allowing for
quality care. Previously, methods to combat pain included alcohol,
opium, and even hypnotism. Wells claimed that a patient could be
gassed with nitrous oxide, feel no pain during the procedure, and
awake feeling little, if any, discomfort. Several other people
claimed the discovery as their own and Wells never received credit
for his discovery during his lifetime. Sadly, he did himself in. I
chose Wells because he never received any respect for his discovery
when he was alive. Having been under anesthesia twice, I am very
thankful for it. He, also, has a wild headstone.

The Clues:
Go back to the pavement and head up toward the cemetery, passing Llyn
Mawr. Follow the pavement to the left as it turns until you reach
section 4. Find the creative and interesting Horace Wells headstone.
Check it out. OK, go back to the pavement and continue in the
direction you were going. You should soon pass the old rugged cross.
Your next headstone to find is the one that belongs to the family of
"positive wealth". Stand near it and then walk toward 120 degrees to
the "essence of faith" headstone. (and this will be my last attempt
at "clever" for today) From the northern side of this headstone
take a compass reading of 30 degrees and walk to the gnarled tree.
Something you seek is waiting there, I hope. These are the most
exhaustive groundskeepers in the history of time (a slight
exaggeration maybe, but they are very good and neat), so please
re-hide as well as you can. Thanks.


Sam Colt Letterbox

Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1814. He founded the
Colt Company and will be remembered for his production of revolving
cylinder weapons. Colt, Hartford's unabashed sales promoter, raised
the distinctive onion-shaped dome, topped with a cast-bronze rampant
colt, over his factory, thereby assuring that every Hartford resident
and visitor who saw the dome would ask about it and hear the Colt
success story (visible from Interstate 91 as you go south from
Hartford). In 1856 he married Elizabeth Jarvis; the couple
had four children. Sam died in January of 1862 at the age of 47. His
estate was reportedly worth $15 million, an enormous sum for the time
and tantamount to more than $300 million today. In 1866, Elizabeth
commissioned a magnificent monument for the newly purchased Colt
family burial plot in Hartford's new rural cemetery, Cedar Hill,
where she, Sam, and their children are now buried.

The Clues:
Head back to the pavement and continue on in the same direction you
were heading in before. Take your first opportunity to take a paved
right and head up the hill. There is a Sam Colt on the corner of
section 3, but not the one for whom we are looking. Gideon Welles,
Abraham Lincoln's secretary of the navy will be on your left. Stop
when you see the highly decorated Stedman coffin memorial on your
left. Go up the small incline to your right. You will first pass
the impressive Beach monument. The same architect who designed the
Connecticut State capitol, designed this. When you leave today, run
by the capitol and see how similar this is to it. The next rather
impressive structure is the memorial for Sam and Elizabeth Jarvis
Colt. After you peek, head back to the Stedman Obelisk. From the
northwest corner of this imposing piece, get a compass reading of 220
degrees and head toward a large needle-y bush. Sam's most
identifiable structure (actually my attempt at it) is hidden beneath
the southeast side.




JP Morgan Letterbox

John Pierpont Morgan

Born in Hartford, Conn., the son of a financier, he began his career
as an accountant in 1857 and then became a big league rich guy. He
was, more importantly, a philanthropist. JP became one of the
world's most powerful railroad magnates, controlling about 5,000
miles of railway by 1902. He financeda series of giant industrial
consolidations, organizing the mergers that formed General Electric,
U.S. Steel and International Harvester. A noted art collector, he
donated many artworks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; his book
collection and the building that housed it became the Pierpont Morgan
Library. I don't know why, but I was surprised that he was born and
buried in Hartford.

The Clues:

If you have a map, go to cemetery section 11. If you don't, read on.
Go back to your last place you were on the pavement. Continue
heading toward the back of the cemetery and when you come to the
5-way intersection, take the option at 310 degrees. The large Morgan
monument will be on your left shortly. Find the "older" John
Pierpont Morgan stone (there are two) that is to the left of the
large reddish stone as you face it from the road. From the small
stone go 12 steps at 290 degrees, then 15 steps at 190 degrees. Look
left. The thing you seek is between the rhody and the conifer. It
occurs to me now that a rhody's leaves will curl up when it gets
colder, so please do a better job in the hiding than I probably did.
Thanks.


Crying Woman Letterbox
This one was sort of a personal one for me. In March of 2002, some
workmen in my home accidentally allowed my 13-year-old Siamese cat,
Grace, out of our house and we never saw her again. It's pathetic
how attached I was to the old girl, so when I began letterboxing in
April I used a Siamese cat stamp as my personal one. After
realizing that carving is something I enjoy (note: not "am good at",
but enjoy), I decided to start searching out an image to carve as my
I.D. It's still a work in progress, but after I carved this stamp
which I based upon a beautiful statue here at Cedar Hill it seemed a
fitting place and stamp to recognize the departure of my old friend.
I miss her. I doubt there will ever be another like her.

The Clues:

This letterbox is hidden in a more modern section of the cemetery, so
please be especially aware of anyone who is there on a personal
visit. Thanks.

I saw a beautiful sunset as I was planting the JP Morgan box, so if
it's evening, it might be worth the wait. When you are ready to move
on to this last box, head. You know .Back to the road,
going still toward the rear (mostly modern) section of the cemetery.
You are looking for the resting place of Wallace Stevens in section
14.
Stevens characterized himself as the "hermit of poetry" and he spent
his days as a Hartford insurance executive and his nights as a poet.
Those without a computer map will need to know that you stay on the
road and take the first chance to turn right, then a left after
section 22, then another right which brings you to the aforementioned
section 14. Find Wallace Stevens' head stone. The day I was there I
noticed that someone had placed a mussel shell as well as the
traditional rocks on top of the stone. From the left side of the
head stone walk 28 steps at about 265 degrees. Five steps at 200
degrees from the Rogers stone is a small grove of trees. The crying
woman is hidden in, what I believe to be, some hanging cedar brush
within. If you are interested, the actual sculpture upon which the
crying woman stamp is based is in section 6.




Other famous people buried at Cedar Hill
Isabella Beecher Hooker, Harriet Beecher Stowe's sister and an early
advocate of women's rights-
Thomas Gallaudet was the founding teacher of the American School for
the Deaf -
Morgan Bulkeley Mayor of Hartford and Governor of Connecticut. He's
also in the baseball hall of fame -
George Capewell, developed and perfected the means to make horseshoe
nails by machine. To this day, Hartford remains the horseshoe nail
capital of the world. Who knew?