The Joke's On You, Mr. President Multi-cache

This cache is designed to bring a bit a national history to your attention while recognizing all those women who have chosen geocaching as a revolutionary new hobby.

Plainfield has long been associated with the national road, U.S. 40, which goes through town as "Main Street." One incident which brought Plainfield national attention occurred in 1842 when President Martin Van Buren was spilled purposefully from his stage coach into the thick mud of the highway. The practical joke came as a result of Van Buren's vetoing a bill from Congress to improve the highway, a move which angered Western settlers. When Van Buren came through Plainfield on a swing to shore up his popularity for the 1844 election, a group of perpetrators set up the incident. The elm tree whose roots caused the president's carriage to topple became known as the Van Buren Elm. (History of Plainfield--Town of Plainfield website.)

The cooridinates given for this cache will bring you to a monument in Plainfield designating the place where a U.S. president was the subject of a practical joke. The monument was erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The cooridinates for the actual cache are: N--0N9*BA.AN0’ W--08R*AN.U8E’

To decipher the cooridinates, visit the monument and assign the numbers 1 through 7, in order, to the first seven letters on the monument plaque. The cache itself is located approximately .3 mile east of the monument (an easy walk on public streets, or you can drive to a parking lot within 100 ft. of the cache) in a small wooded area at the edge of a school yard. It is round, about 4 inches in diameter.

Since the monument was erected by a woman’s organization, the cache is dedicated to “geocachettes,” and the original contents include: New earrings with semi-precious stones; A gold heart pin with flashing lights; A sewing kit complete with scissors; A gold Mississippi River Queen pin with lots of fake diamonds; Red glitter; A gold chain in slight need of repair; and an “uncirculated” 1994 nickel.

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