This geocaching adventure challenges you to visit each of Louisiana's State Parks and Historic Sites. Each State Park and Historic Site has a unique special mission with a story to tell, and offers its own very special geocaching adventure for you to experience. Each of these facilities has an official Geo Project cache, containing a special clue for you to find and record. These clues collectively will enable you to determine the coordinates of the mystery location of the Final Cache, which is located somewhere in the state of Louisiana. Use this Official LAOSP Clue Tracking Sheet to record all your clues.
As you travel our fine state, we encourage you to upload photos of your travels on the geocaching.com web pages. However, we ask that you please do not log clues or spoilers to the caches...they would have to be deleted to keep the game fun for everyone! Do tell us all about your travels and what you liked best about our parks and historic sites. As an extra incentive, and for a limited time, you can earn a Louisiana State Park Geocoin for visiting all of our State Parks and Historic Sites, and finding all the official geocaches placed for your pleasure! Prizes are limited to the supply in hand and will not be replenished.
Before you hunt for your first cache, click this link to read the rules for the Geo Project * Louisiana Office of State Parks. You must follow all the rules, to qualify to win one of these great prizes and collectibles.
This cache was place by the geocachers of Louisiana, on behalf of the Louisiana Office of State Parks. It is designed to bring your attention to these beautiful State Parks and Historic Sites. We ask that you join us by visiting them whenever you get a chance. Our State Park system is a great resource, so remember to "cache in and trash out".
Congratulations to Eazy_E FTF!
Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site
57730 Main Street, Plaquemine, LA 70764
225-687-7158 or 877-987-7158 toll free
Directions: The site is located off La. 1 in downtown Plaquemine in Iberville Parish, 13 miles south of Baton Rouge and 8 miles north of Nottoway Plantation in White Castle. The site is on historic Main Street directly across from Iberville Parish Museum and historic St. John's Church. GPS Coordinates: N 30 17.5331, W 91 14.0219.
Hours of Operation:Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site is now operated by Iberville Parish and the City of Plaquemine. Operating hours for the museum are Tuesday - Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Entrance Fees: Please call Plaquemine Lock (225-687-7158) for fee information.
As a distributary of the Mississippi River and a route to the heartland of Louisiana through the Atchafalaya Basin, Bayou Plaquemine was used as a navigable artery centuries before the age of European exploration. From the early 1700s, Bayou Plaquemine served as a commercial transport route, promoting settlement and economic prosperity in southwest and northern Louisiana via the Atchafalaya, Red and other rivers.
The Plaquemine Lock was designed by Colonel George W. Goethals (1858-1928), the assistant to the chief engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Goethals later gained distinction as chairman and chief engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission for the design and construction of the Panama Canal.
When completed in 1909, the lock was significant for having the highest fresh water lift of any lock in the world -- 51 feet -- and a unique engineering design that utilized a gravity flow principle. The gates were later modernized by the installation of hydraulic pumps. The lock served its purpose well by providing a short-cut from the Mississippi River into Louisiana's interior. By 1925, Bayou Plaquemine had become the northern terminus of the Intracoastal Canal system.
Increased river traffic during and after World War II put a severe strain on the lock's capacity and demand increased for a larger lock at Port Allen. In 1961, a larger set of locks began operating at Port Allen and the Plaquemine Lock was closed after 52 years of service. Thirteen years after closing the lock, the Corps of Engineers supervised the construction of the present levee across the mouth of Bayou Plaquemine at the Mississippi River, giving the historic old structure greater stability and providing flood protection, while closing off access to the Mississippi River through Bayou Plaquemine.
In 1972 the Plaquemine Lock structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, an honorary designation for significant historic sites. In addition to the lock, the area includes the Gary James Hebert Memorial Lockhouse, which serves as a museum and visitors center. Hebert worked to prevent the destruction of the lock by the Corps of Engineers and campaigned to have the area preserved as a historic site. Facilities also include a stylized adaptation of the Lockmaster's house which provides open-air pavilion space to display various water craft used when the lock was operational.
Your Clues to this Cache...
This cache was created by the members of the South East Louisiana Geocache Association and donated to the Louisiana Office of State Parks.
As an added bonus there are one or more Benchmarks here.
It is recommended that anyone attempting the State Park Challenge series consider getting the Louisiana State Parks' $80 Annual Park Pass, which is valid for day use at all sites for the duration of a calendar year (i. e., January through December), and can be purchased at any state park. All people accompanying a permit holder as occupants in a single, private, non-commerical vehicle, in which the permit holder is a passenger or driver, are included in the Annual Pass admission.