Town of Novelty Traditional Geocache

Historically speaking the problematic ditch near GZ is most troublesome from November though February then starts to improve in March, (though some rainy springs have caused problems in April / May too). After the Beaver dam that broke in November of 2012, the general area has bit more severe water problem than it had in the past. But with a little fore thought (to get over the ditch) this cache can be found even during the rainy season.

This is the site of what once was the town of Novelty, Washington. This was an active town from the late 1800's to sometime in the 1940’s. It consisted of a general store, a church and a school. A photo of the school from 1888 can be seen here (thanks goes to Lightning Jeff for the link).

Allen Miller, a well known Duvall historian had this to say about the town of Novelty. "The store sat right in the middle of the big widening where you come off of the present roundabout going towards Pickerings house and the cemetery. Ernest Samzelius, the store's third owner, turned the building against the hillside and enlarged the store, with the community hall on one end and living quarters on the other. If you dig around enough, you can still find a concrete retaining wall and foundation in the blackberry bushes".

This is near a very busy round-a-bout so please park at N 47 42.569 W 121 59.024 It's about a 80 foot mostly easy walk from the parking coordinance to the cache, that requires stepping over a small ditch that almost always has some water in it and after a good rain can have enough water to make crossing over it without getting wet feet a little bit challenging. As always remember to use caution crossing the road. The hit should steer you straight to the cache, as your GPS may bounce around a bit.

After you arrive at the cache location look east up the hill this is where the church would have been located. If you are really into bush whacking you should still be able to find the foundation of this church at the top of the hill under all that vegetation. Now with your back to the road look at the cache, notice the cement wall behind it, that is the back corner of the old store.

Many people mistakenly believe that the actual Novelty Hill is located on the western side of the valley. The fact is Novelty Hill is here on the Eastern side. The mistake is because of the NE Novelty Hill Road being on the Western side of the Valley. In bygone days the road was actually called the road to Novelty Hill. Many maps (including MapQuest) still list the town though it was never actually incorporated and there are no addresses attributed to the town of Novelty, Washington.

Due to the hill, trees and power lines there is plenty to interfere with the GPS. I recommend that you enter the woods using the faint trail that is just to the right of the telephone pole, the hint should be a dead give away. You are looking for a large camoed treasure chest.