Kent County Highpoint Trip Report
Date: June 17, 2007
Author: John Mitchler
Overall, landowners were friendly and most knew about the watershed divide in
the county (Delaware/Chesapeake).
Hartley, 4 areas east - Going south on DE 1, take Exit 110 (Smyrna) about 25
miles south of I-95. Go 2 miles south on US 13 and turn right (west) on
Glenwood (DE 6 & 300). Stay straight after 1.1 miles on DE 300. Go 7 miles on
DE 300 and turn left (south) on DE 11. Go 4 miles to Hartley and turn left
(east) on DE 44. Go 0.3 mile through the small downtown and turn left (north)
on Rehak Drive. After 0.1 mile, continue on a gravel drive that passes a farm
house on the left and provides access to farm fields. At mile 0.3 stop at or
before an irrigation ditch. Do a loop hike by going southeast to high ground
protected by a thick tree line. Then go northeast and pass through another tree
line to high ground. Leveling indicates area to south is slightly higher and
car parked on lane is equal. Leveling at tree line in between showed both areas
to be equal. I'd like to believe the south area is highest, preserved by the
tree line, but I couldn't be certain.
After doing the two areas northeast of Hartley, I followed DE 44 east of town to
the area just south of DE 44 which was chest high in corn. Yuk. I drove back
to Hartley and took Crystal Road south. The laundry lady that Fred described at
home #206 wasn't there when I drove into her yard but her laundry was still
hanging there. Her dog was friendly. From the junction of Crystal Road and DE
44 I leveled to her house #206 and it seemed lower than the junction!
Hartley, 2 areas west - The area at the end of the lane may be the highest in
the county if the claim is correct that the ditch company's survey placed the
height at 84 feet. Cindy & Richard Schwieker are very friendly and have two dogs
(a German Shepherd that engulfs the Chihuahua in its mouth for fun).
They call the high ground "Mt. Hartley" and it is located behind their shed in an
alfalfa field, which was a week from harvest and they didn't want me to enter it.
Therefore I am one area short of claiming Kent and claiming a Delaware
completion. They claim the drop from their house to the ditch is 14 feet.
The larger area closer to DE 44 was ankle-high in beans.
Seenytown, 1 area - Not much to add other than watch for Amish culture in this area.
I took Judith Road north of DE 44 (east of Hartley) and parked on Dinahs
Road and walked the tree line west to the field.
Twin Eagle Farms, 14 areas - I continued north on Judith Road to reach DE 300 to
reach Kenton. There is a photogenic cemetery on the south edge of town on DE 300.
In Kenton, zero odometer and proceed west on DE 42. At mile 3.6, cross
over DE 6. At mile 4.3 reach Deer Antler Road on your right. Proceed slowly to
the obvious road cut.
When I visited the areas south of Twin Eagle Farms, I was stopped by a
landowner, Fred, who explained that houses have been broken into there and that
everyone is watching and stopping strangers. Fred's home is off Long Ridge
Road, and I spent time in Fred's backyard along with the owner of home #92
Jordan Drive who knew about the high ground there. It which seems to be 200
feet south of Long Ridge Road, along a row of pines on the north edge of home #92.
After assessing the hobby of county highpointing, this guy suggested I
many enjoy a visit to Magnolia where the town was laid out in a perfect 360
degree platt, and the Mayor proclaims his house the Center of the Universe.
After digesting that, I went north on Deer Antler Road, visiting the 2 crop
sites along the way, before reaching the cluster of 9 sites along Holletts
Corner Road. I did the walking circuit, starting at Don's home #4076 and
walking south between homes and fields. The PVC pasture still exists and seemed
to be the highest. I also drove south on a driveway to home #4428 to reach the
two larger eastern areas. I had a nice conversation with the owner there,
who knew a lot about the high ground. The highest area is behind his shed where you
can see the drop off south to the creek. He knew of a newspaper article about a
geologic survey that came to this area and surveyed to find the highest ground
which he claimed was his land. He knew Les Webb, who lives at home #4198, which
is the driveway on the right side of the pole, on the south side of Holletts
Corner Road.
Hand leveling indicates the area north of Twin Eagle Farms is higher than the
two areas south and that the two areas along Deer Antler Road are equal.
I'd love to get the elevation measurements from the geologic article (for north
of Twin Eagle) and ditch company survey (for west of Hartley).