Stoutenburgh Cemetery as Geocache Site!

I received an interesting call this March from a Hyde Park resident who wanted to use the Stoutenburgh Cemetery as a “geocache” site. What is geocaching? It is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and a series of published coordinates and then share their experiences on-line. Once we determined that the cemetery itself would not be breached, we gave permission to our local geocaching fan to hide the container in the adjacent Doty park. The site was posted on April 8, 2012 and GPS clues were provided to players along the way leading them to the final destination. You can follow the cache and read the clues and comments on Geocaching, “Cemeteries Here and There,” Number GC3GENJ.

Stoutenburgh Cemetery as Geocache Site!!
Printed August 15, 2012
STFA Annual Newsletter
by Patricia Fox
STFA President

This cache starts in Doty Park in honor of the Stoutenburgh family, “Founders” of Hyde Park. The goal of this placement is to make visitors aware of the early history of Hyde Park.

In the early 18th century, New York City and Albany were the main centers of civilization along the banks of the Hudson River, and the land where Dutchess County is now was largely uninhabited, trackless forest. The Hudson was pretty much the sole mode of transportation and the key to commerce in colonial New York, and there was much money to be made in the fur trade. With the aim of establishing a trading post along the river, Jacobus Stoutenburgh, the grandson of the first treasurer of old New Amsterdam, started north from the city. He soon established a successful fur trading post with a landing near where the Hyde Park railroad station is today.

Near where the first Stoutenburgh house stood at the intersection of West Market Street and Park Place is located the Stoutenburgh family cemetery where many of the first residents are laid to rest. The cemetery, located near Doty Avenue, is the last piece of land out of the original Stoutenburgh estate that remains in family hands. Nobody has owned it except for Jacobus Stoutenburgh and his descendants.

Jacobus had nine children in all. Following his death, son Luke was given the piece of land that is now the hamlet of Hyde Park, and he donated the land on which was built the Hyde Park Reformed Dutch Church (location of the “LITTLE WHITE CHURCH,” cache GC301EG, a nice multi-cache nearby, be sure to check it out.)

While the Stoutenburghs haven’t had the kind of acclaim that relative newcomers as the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts have enjoyed, interest in the family has grown. And, while there are no Roosevelts or Vanderbilts around anymore, representatives of the Stoutenburgh line have always and still do live in Hyde Park. There is another geocache hunt called “The Secret of Jacobus Stoutenburgh” posted by “Nancy Drew!” Get your GPS ready and investigate!