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Good Campsite LbNA #16691

Owner:'DDD'
Plant date:Jul 20, 2005
Location:
City:Townsend/West Groton
County:Middlesex
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:1
Found by: Nairon
Last found:Aug 11, 2023
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jul 20, 2005
Terrain: Easy
Clues: Easy
Time: 20 Minutes to get the box
Stamp: hand carved

This is #2 in a series of letterboxes depicting hobo symbols. (Kind Hearted Woman in Wolfeboro, NH is the first one; Sleep Here in Hollis, NHis the 3rd))

Hobo is the name coined for men (or women) who left friends and family during the Great Depression of the 1920’s & 1930’s or after wars when there was no work in their home cities. They traveled as migrant workers or just to avoid the stress and strains of life in a family they could not support. They would hop a freight train and ride in boxcars to the next city in search of temporary work, perhaps in construction or on a farm. There is a resourcefulness to the idea of being a hobo that says you will survive by doing what you have to do.

Hobos developed a system of symbols - a code through which they gave information and warnings to their fellow travelers. Usually these signs would be written in chalk or coal on a trestle, fence, building, sidewalk, tree, or railroad equipment to let others know what they could expect in a given area - where it was safe to camp or sleep, whether the local authorities were friendly or not, where a free meal might be available. All these symbols aided the hobo in finding help or steering clear of trouble.

The symbol on this stamp would have told other hobos that there was a good campsite with fresh water at this location.

Directions: This letterbox is located on a section of abandoned track of the old Fitchburg Railroad which is part of the proposed Squannacook River Rail Trail. To get there, follow 111W (turns in to 111S) to 113W towards Townsend & Fitchburg. Take a right on to 119W. Go .9 of a mile and turn left on Townsend Road. Shortly after a swampy/pond area on the left, you should start looking for a dirt road on the right. You will see a brown sign that reads “Mass. Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, Peter E. Bertozzi Squannacook Wildlife Management Area”. Turn in and park.

Clues: Walk through the orange gate at the back of the parking area. You will soon come to some rail road tracks. Turn left at the tracks and walk down the tracks for about 200 steps. Look to your left. You will see a triangular shaped rock slab just to the left of the tracks. An old railroad tie is butted up against it. The Good Campsite letterbox is buried under the leaves between the rock and the tie.

If you go back to and continue on the main trail bearing right at the fork, you’ll find a lovely swimming hole on a bend in the river that I’m sure would have been a very attractive campsite for passing hobos. You might want to bring your bathing suits and a picnic lunch and spend the day. If you turn left at that fork, you’ll find the remains of an old mill just below the rapids. Both are just a 5 minute walk