Genoa U.S. Indian School Traditional Cache
Hidden : 7/15/2007
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works
Looking for a different adventure?

Related Web Page

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:


The idea for the U.S. Indian Industrial School at Genoa began with the Pawnee Indians. In 1857, the Pawnee made a treaty with the U.S. government to settle on a reservation in what is now Nance County. At the time of this treaty the Pawnee wanted a vocational school for their people. In 1866, a vocational school was built called the Pawnee Agency School.

In the mid 1870s when the Pawnee were moved to Oklahoma Territory, the school became vacant. The government decided to use the Pawnee Agency for the establishment of an Indian Boarding School with money appropriated from Congress in 1882.
On February 20, 1884, with an enrollment of 74 students, the U.S. Indian School at Genoa was started. The school began with one building on 320 acres and grew to have more than thirty buildings on 640 acres. The school was in operation for fifty years and became one of the largest of the Federal Boarding Schools. In 1932, the peak enrollment was nearly 600 students.

The Indian School was one of the longest-lived of the 16 Federal Indian Boarding Schools and stressed assimilation into white society with a combination of manual training and basic education.  The students spent half a day learning a trade and the other half learning reading, writing and math.  In addition to schooling, students learned a trade by working in the carpentry shop, harness shop, tailor shop, school, hospital, bakery, laundry, dairy barn, cheese factory, blacksmith shop, horse or cattle barns, farm, or gardens. The school closed in 1934. The students went back to their reservations, attended other boarding schools or went on to college.

At this point in time, the facilities were deeded to the state, which converted it into a prison farm. Used from 1937 until 1944, it had no bars on the windows for the 143 inmates. Only six men violated the "code of honor" during their stay. There was a canning factory, packing plant, and a nursery. When it closed it was given to the University of Nebraska and made into a seed farm. In 1951 most of the buildings were auctioned off.  

Today the U.S. Indian School Museum is housed in the Manual Training Building. Harness making, carpentry, tailoring, shoe repair and the band room were in this building.  The school was declared a State Historical Site in 1976 and a National Historical Site in 1978.

There is no need to take anything apart or open any containers other than the cache container to find this hide-a-key. The coords were hard to get but there are only a few places it could be. The cache is placed with permission from the Genoa US Indian School Foundation board.

The museum is open most Summer weekends from Memorial Day thru Labor Day if you care to see the inside.






Placed By A Nebraskache Member

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



Advertising with Us