Chester County Code

The twelfth prophet catches a Z (or two?) 15.2 miles from the 16th piece, and 21.7 miles from the 11th piece, which turns out to be 6600 feet from a small keystoned bridge.

The penultimate word on the keystone is key.

I do hereby declare that I have bought of Machaloha all his Land lying betweene Delaware River the Bay of Cheasepeek bay and Susquahannah River. And do warn all Persons that they presume not to settle thereon without my leave, & that those that are already or shall hereafter settle upon any part of the same do behave themselves justly & lovingly towards him & his fellow Indians. Given at New Castle the 18th October 1683.
Wm Penn.

And the totem sits directly above the most important word.

D U D L T R L R M L U D U S S S L

At 5.2 miles as the wheels roll from the sixth piece of the code to a reddish-topped, uninteresting shed-like structure, he appears to lead a wild goose chase.

However, while he can't be seen here, or at 230 degrees, the dome he stands directly south of can be, where the 10th and 16th words of his second message are part of a larger message.

Steve McQueen is in Chester County. Mother and child wait near the doctor's office.

Little did anyone realise that the second piece of the code is the fourth word (as punctuated) under their care.

Time is of the essence in the cemetery between the churches, where lies the most difficult piece of the code: the first word taken to the grave, only pointed out minutes after the bells chime ten on the Ides of September.

Built by the son of an iron magnate, an improbable mansion in an improbable location, except for its presence on the ley line of the sixth and seventh pieces of the code.

Saints dot the landscape, the one 50 paces at 220 degrees from the tall stand-alone turret is worth seeking out, as its unadorned name reveals part of the code.

All of the Chester County pictured is private, yet a trespass-free route was discovered. One authoritative source has this as the most important number in the code, yet the absence of any sign of the Lord seems to make it clear they are off by one.

While there is no sign of the Lord, on the otherside there is a sign of the code, as the second word.

There is one clever trespass-free route to visit Chester County's answer to the Kentucky Bend in search of the code, but that is not necessary as a nearby bridge holds the secret, as the final word (as punctuated) of the ninth line of a bronze inscription.

While a Jakob Dylan lyric might be recalled here, the real message is revealed where shadows fall, as the second word of the second paragraph.

Near a part of the the waters that run prominently thru the code, here at its final piece, a phrase is revealed below the five o'clock shadow; the fifth, first, then 11th words are just one part of a larger whole.

Now at journey's end, if lost, it may may be wise to backtrack, while recalling the most important of numbers.

A part of the code isn't concealed here, but a clue to it was. It was stolen, however, the thief left with it via the red door, turned left onto the eponymous road, following it around until he turned right onto another road which soon took him over a bridge and out of the eponymous township.

He turned left, traveling in the direction of the creek as best he could, checking out the next three bridges that crossed it, whether directly off his road or not. One of the roads that crossed it led to the church on the the ley line with the 12th piece and the 22nd piece, but he didn't go there, preferring to remain north of the creek.

The bridge with the quay was the clue, as its final word.

Trimbleville has vanished from the map, but its fingerprints remain, marked at the ford crossed during a bygone war.

This part of the code is the most ancient, taken to the grave by the original settlers of these lands, revealed only 132 years after the crossing of the ford, in a place vaguely upstream Wawassan in the high ground, 700 yards west of the Rock, which is about twice as many and again a quarter yards southwest of the ford, as the 20th word.

The first piece of the code is revealed as a number, written as a word, given by the count of a letter, that marks the spot up above.

No part of code is to be found at this purveyor of such that the town is the self-proclaimed capital of, but a map to it is, located just above the caja.

The westernmost stop on the Underground Railroad conceals it, as the top word on the headstone closest to the code's 23rd piece.

The Faerie Queen heads east then turns left where she finds Tam Lin's steed. Janet soon takes the black and red rose. They turn at Miles Cross, where Tam Lin was dismounted, and then take sanctuary in the sylvan church.

The spell is broken by incantation of the 22nd word and invocation of the green feathered animals.

It is said that a part of the code is revealed only to one who performs the bizarre ritual of standing between the bridges, heels in the creek, and looking up, while letting the current strike their left foot then their right foot.

Unique in the code, a number is revealed and taken as a singleton, thought it is the last two digits of the fourth and final number.

As the bell tolls thrice at the sixth piece of the code, the iconic tower locates the key tree, which is 315 feet at 200 degrees from a milestone in the message, where all the characters are taken together as a single word.

X marks the spot, but is lost on modern maps. Fortunately, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

This part of the code survives only in the name of a place, inaccessible to the public, but not to the astute.

The secret society with its secret words sits just north of the border, facing our beautiful county.

And, the 33rd word is part of a secret far deeper.

The photographer reportedly got wet feet and a red neck when taking this midday photo. While taking shelter in the bridge, he discovered a sign of the code as the second engraved word.

A place where the local workers came to worship and be baptized in the nearby creek. The good reverend rests in peace, taking part of the code to his grave.

Yet it is revealed as either the ultimate or penultimate word of his epitaph.

Here where CCC meets CCCC, a part of the code is carved on stone nearby (and closer to the otherside of the wonderwall), 180 degrees and four times as many feet from the bridge.

If stones could shout, those with ears to hear would be keen on the 27th word.

Chuck & Jerry observed a piece of the code at their observatory, fifteen miles north of the free state line, and twice as far west from the future capital.

It is revealed for future generations as the fourth word of the fifth line on an old sign.

Here in the borough by the oak on the green, lies a fragment of the code, black and gold, on the front of the building pictured twice, revealed as the first word.

Where the 300th stone rests in peace, a piece of the code is revealed as the 14th word. In this place the most important message is delivered.

The Chester County Code

Originally intended to be a simple photoblog or rural tour entitled "Beautiful Chester County". However, when I hit the back roads to explore these things, I was amazed to discover they were arranged to conceal an old message, originating in native times, and descending thru the founder of Chester County, surveyors, masons, road layouts, religious places, and even local films.

Late summer/early autumn 2007 -- Sir Braemoor