Mummy Nearest

One of our favorite things about geocaching is discovering hidden treasures that most people drive by everyday and never even know they are there.

If you've ever been to Richmond, Indiana you've probably passed within a few hundred feet of some astonishing treasures including an actual Egyptian mummy.

It all started at the turn of the century with a wealthy society matron, Julia Meek Gaar, who traveled and collected art and cultural items from around the world. She wanted to bring "part of the world" back to her hometown and share it with others. When her collection grew too big for her apartment, she displayed some of it in a newly opened art gallery.

In 1929, during a visit to Cairo Egypt, she purchased a mummy. A curio shop owner had reportedly decided to sell it after exhibiting it for forty years. She had to wait 11 months for the Egyptian government to decide whether to release her purchase. She ultimately wrote to President Herbert Hoover, who contacted the state department and secured its release.

Many of Julia's oversea purchases were rather large, including a Samurai Warrior uniform and a bust of Buddha, so she soon needed even more space for her oddities. As president of the Wayne County Historical Society, she was instrumental in securing the former Hicksite Quaker Meeting House grounds and creating a museum for the county. She donated her collection – including the mummy - to the museum in 1930.

Interesting Mummy Trivia: The mummy was thought to be a priestess because of the markings on the sarcophagus. But a recent review of the x-rays by an Egyptian skeleton expert indicates that it may instead be that of a male.

The mummy at the Wayne County Historical Museum continues to delight school children and adults alike. It is one of only three mummies in Indiana (one is on exhibit at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis and the other is also in Richmond - just a few miles away at the Joseph Moore Museum at Earlham College.)

This cache has been placed with permission of the museum director. You can search for it without actually going inside the museum. There are many interesting things that can be seen on the grounds including a two-story log cabin, a steam engine and the Buddha head. If you would like to see the hidden treasures inside, the museum is open from 9-4 during the week and from 1-4 on the weekends. There is a modest admission of $5 for adults and $1.50 for students. Children under 6 are free and seniors 60 and over are $4. If the museum is closed, you can still go inside the fence and hunt for the cache, but we ask that you limit your searches to daylight hours only.

A special first-to-find prize has been left in the cache. It is the same item that Scratchy purchased the first time she visited the museum on a school trip. Not saying how long ago that was, but glad to see the museum still sells them. There is a wooden nickel for the second-to-find. Enjoy!