What is it Wednesday: April 3, 2019

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

April 3, 2019. 

And the answer is....

This is an old well near the spot known as Trinity Pines, near the Whitestown Road end of Lutherlyn’s property. 

The three large trees at this spot (which are actually spruces) stand out in the surrounding deciduous forest, and are part of the inspiration for the Lutherlyn logo. These three trees grew near the home of the families who owned and ran the grist mill along the stream that became part of Lutherlyn. The well, the three trees, some foundation stones, and an apple orchard are all parts of that old home site from the 1800’s. We know that the Allen family lived at what was known as the Millers House in 1859, and their partners the Thomas family lived there before that.

During a recent autumn that was particularly dry, LEEP staff decided it was a good time to excavate the well and see how far down the stonework goes, and if anything interesting would be found in the soil and debris that filled in the well over time. 

Even in a very dry spell, we did not find the bottom of the well stonework before getting too deep in water to make it practical to continue digging. In normal conditions, the water level in the well is up to at least the second step in the first photo, and usually the first step or higher. 

The shovel in the photo is about 56 inches tall, and fit entirely within the cleared-out well. Unfortunately we didn’t come across any interesting artifacts in the debris removed from the well. Maybe in another dry year we’ll try again!

For more on LEEP how can introduce you to surprising features of Lutherlyn’s land and history through school field trips, Saturday Safars, summer camp, retreats, special events and more, check out www.Lutherlyn.com/ee.