Note REVISED COORDS as of 8/30/18 due to muggle tampering = N42 13.827 W088 20.649
------------------------------*All Limited Edition Geocoins Have Been Awarded*------------------------------
This cache is placed as part of the
Crystal Lake 100-Years Geocoin Challenge created to celebrate Crystal Lake's centennial anniversary of incorporation (1914-2014). The Challenge will take you throughout the city where you will discover twelve (12) hidden caches and explore some Crystal Lake history along the way. Be one of the first 250 geocachers* to complete the Challenge and receive a limited edition trackable CL100Years Geocoin.
The Crystal Lake 100-Years Geocoin Challenge Passport contains instructions, a list of the geocaches, and designated areas for recording the code words you discover in each cache. You can print your Passport
HERE or pick one up in the specially marked box located just outside the front entrance to Crystal Lake City Hall at 100 W. Woodstock St., Crystal Lake, IL 60014.
Here are the 12 caches:
GC4XNGQ,
GC4Y2WH,
GC4XM0N,
GC4Y96C,
GC4XKNN,
GC4XK2V,
GC4ZFZM,
GC4XTYZ,
GC4XPNZ,
GC4ZAKQ,
GC4XPM5,
GC4XQQY
*limit one per registered geocaching account/household please
------------------------------code words are located on inside cover of logbooks------------------------------
Crystal Lake's spring-fed lake produced some of the finest ice throughout northern Illinois from the 1850s until the early 1900s. This cache is hidden on the historic Dole Mansion/Lakeside Legacy Arts Park property. Information below compiled from Crystal Lake Historical Society & Illinois State Museum.
Ice Harvesting Process: Ice harvesting was labor intensive, requiring more than 200 men during the harvesting season that typically lasted 4-6 weeks, peaking between January and February.
Once the ice had frozen to a sufficient depth, snow was removed from the top of the ice. This was done by hitching a plow blade (often called a scraper blade) to the back of a team of horses. The snow was pushed and carried out of the way to either side of the lake.
The ice was then marked off into long rows, each 22" wide. Next, lines were marked at right angles to form a grid of 22" square cakes of ice. Horses pulled a tool that then cut grooves on the grid about 2/3 of the way through (12-14" deep). The furrows were corked (or tamped) with snow so that the water could not get into them and reunite the cakes of ice.
The ice was once more cleaned with a single scraper to remove the cuttings made by the plows. It was then ready to be cut into "rafts" or "floats", which were usually two cakes wide and ten cakes long. The rafts were pushed along a channel of water toward the ice house. Men used breaker bars and one-hand crosscut ice saws to finish cutting the blocks of ice. The breaker bar looked like a large fork with either two or three prongs.
Just before reaching the ice house ramp, the ice cakes passed under a planer to create a uniform thickness. When the ice reached the ramp, it was hauled up and directed into various rooms of the ice house by a team of men. The blocks of ice were packed as closely together as possible to prevent all unnecessary meltage. Straw and sawdust were packed between the cakes of ice. This served as insulation as well as to keep the ice blocks from melting together.
Ice house_Image provided by Crystal Lake Historical Society
Important Information:
8/30/2018: Container has been moved with permission to another location on the property due to repeated muggling. No longer hidden among the trees, but rather is now out in an highly visible, open area.
5/24/15: You can park along the drive south of the buildings & cache is now just a few steps away...please use stealth & care where you walk as there is some planted ground cover in the area.