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This is a short walking tour of part of the Dickinson College campus. The cache has been placed with permission of college officials, please remember that College property is private property! This cache is appropriate for those in wheelchairs although it may mean taking the long way around on occasion.
Miniature certificate for FTF.
The coordinates of the cache are determined by answering the questions at the end of the description, so read them ahead of time. The cache should not be difficult to find but note that the campus has many trees and buildings so expect some GPS jumping. Listed coordinates are averages of five readings. BYOP.
The listed coordinates place you in front of West College, or "Old West." Designed by Benjamin Latrobe (the architect of the US Capitol building), Old West is the oldest building on campus. The set of steps at the front of the building have a great deal of meaning for Dickinson students and alumni, as new students march up the steps upon matriculating at the college and then descend "The Old Stone Steps" at graduation. Proceed to N 40° 12.165 W 077° 11.682.
You are now in front of the statue of Benjamin Rush, founder of the college. Rush was a physician and educator who also played a prominent role in revolutionary politics. In 1776, Rush was appointed to the Continental Congress and became a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Later he was the Surgeon-General of the Continental Army. He was an early proponent of universal education and health care, better treatment for the mentally ill, prison reform, and the abolition of slavery. Later, he would be the medical consultant for the Lewis and Clark expedition and is given much credit for helping to reestablish a good relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson late in their lives. This statue is a copy of the original, which stood on the grounds of the Department of the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington, DC. This replica was dedicated in the summer of 2004. To your north is the Alumni Gardens and past that is the Stern Center, home to Dickinson's highly-regarded Office of Global Studies. Proceed to N 40° 12.166 W 077° 11.632.
This is the "Pretzel Gate," one of a number of gates leading through the low wall that surrounds this part of campus, which is known as the "Academic Quad." Read the plaque to learn about Noah Pinkney, who sold pretzels from a cart at this site for many years. Behind you to the north is East College, originally constructed in 1836. During renovations in 1969, the building collapsed and was rebuilt using the same limestone blocks. East College is home to a number of humanities departments. Proceed along the sidewalk to N 40° 12.122 W 077° 11.636.
You are now at the corner of West and High Streets. To your east, across the street, is Denny Memorial Hall. The original Denny Hall was built in 1896 but burned down shortly thereafter. The building you see was constructed in 1904. Diagonally across from you is Carlisle's Bosler Memorial Library. Across High Street to your south is the President's House, home of William G. Durden '71, the 29th president of the college. At this corner, President George Washington reviewed federal troops that were being dispatched to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. A marker in front of Denny Hall memorializes the spot. Go west along the sidewalk to N 40° 12.126 W 077° 11.704.
Here an informational sign sheds some light on Benjamin Latrobe's plans for Old West. Proceed a few feet west to the Class of 1902 gate (N 40° 12.127 W 077° 11.716) and reenter the academic quad. Continue to N 40° 12.155 W 077° 11.731.
You are now in front of Bosler Hall. Originally built in 1886, Bosler was the college's library. Unlike other buildings on campus, Bosler had a red sandstone exterior. In 1940 the building was rebuilt and re-faced with limestone. In 1967, the Spahr library was completed and Bosler was converted into an academic building, now housing the modern language departments. The structure on the ground in front of you is the Bosler Cartouche. The cartouche originally stood above the entrance to Bosler but was removed during the renovations of 1940. It was placed in a barn and promptly forgotten. Nearly 30 years later the cartouche was rediscovered and placed on the extreme southern edge of campus, near the modern Allison Church. Soon after taking office, President Durden decreed that the cartouche should be back in its original location and so, in January 2000, it was loaded onto a truck and placed where it now stands. Continue along the path and through the gate to N 40° 12.172 W 077° 11.785. Along the way you will pass by Althouse Science Hall, where I used to work.
The long, low building in front of you is the Holland Union Building, or HUB. Completed in 1966, the HUB holds the cafeteria, post office, offices, bookstore, radio station, and convenience bar. It is a "hub" of social activity for the college. Go around the south edge of the HUB to N 40° 12.159 W 077° 11.829.
You are in the center of the Britton Plaza, dedicated in 2002 to the memory of Michael Britton, Treasurer of the college from 1985 - 1998. The large example of the college's seal is worth noting. Dickinson is the first college or university in the United States to have a symbol of liberty on its official seal—the liberty cap. Conceived by Benjamin Rush and John Dickinson, the device on the seal includes a liberty cap over a telescope and an open bible. The college motto, Pietate et doctrina tuta libertas, which means “Religion and learning, the bulwark of liberty,” appears below the device. Around the circumference is written Sigillum Collegii Dickinsonii, meaning “Seal of Dickinson College.” (Seal information from college's "Points of Distinction" webpage, www.dickinson.edu/pod). You may now walk around the library (along High Street) to the next stop or go directly to it at N 40° 12.180 W 077° 11.871.
You are now between the Waidner-Spahr Library (to your south) and the Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) Auditorium (to your north). The library underwent a major renovation in 1997-98, doubling the amount of space available for the college's holdings. ATS is home to many lectures and performances, including the annual Priestley Award lecture. Since 1952, the college has honored annually a scientist for notable work with an honorarium and a ceramic medallion of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen. Much of Priestley's original lab apparatus is owned by the college. Included among the 17 Nobel Prize winners who have received the Priestley are Linus Pauling (who won both the Chemistry and the Peace prizes) and Francis Crick (one of the discoverers of the double-helix configuration of DNA). Other well-known prize recipients include Carl Sagan, Margaret Mead, and Steven Jay Gould. Proceed behind the HUB to N 40° 12.217 W 077° 11.837.
From this spot you can see the construction of Dickinson's new science center. The project, when completed, will have cost more than $50 million and will give the college modern science space second to none. The building (Tome Science Hall) to the left of the new construction houses the departments of physics and astronomy, math, and computer science. The new facility will house chemistry, biology, psychology and also the interdisciplinary programs in biochemistry & molecular biology and neuroscience. My office is in the back wing, on the second floor -- James 2225. Stop in and say hello if you are caching during normal working hours. Go east along the sidewalk to N 40° 12.212 W 077° 11.771.
You are standing in front of the Quarry, an eating establishment run by the college. This building has served many purposes, including as a fraternity house. You may wish to go in and get something to eat and drink while you figure out the coordinates of the cache. I hope that you have been paying attention to the questions during the tour!
Information has been gathered from the on-line Dickinson Colleges Chronicles (www.chronicles.dickinson.edu).
Questions: (each letter is a numeral)
A = according to what is engraved above the doors of Old West, how many years after it "burnt down" was Old West rebuilt?
BC = Sherwood Goldberg, class of 19BC, was involved in bringing the statue of Benjamin Rush to Dickinson's campus. What are B and C?
DE = Age of Noah Pinkney when he died.
FG = the gate at the corner of High and West Streets was presented by the class of 19FG. What are F and G?
H = according to the informational box on Benjamin Latrobe, his plans for Old West were drawn up in May of 180H. What is H?
J = the month of the year that the class of 1902 gate was dedicated (1 = Jan, 2 = Feb, etc.)
KL = the Bosler cartouche was dedicated by the class of 19KL. What are K and L?
M = how many triangular faces are on the roof of the information kiosk outside of Althouse?
N = how many steps does it take to get up to the first landing at the main entrance to the HUB?
P = one half of the number of rows of light gray bricks surrounding the college seal in Britton Plaza
Q = the number of sets of double doors on the south side of ATS.
R = the lamp post behind you when you looked at the new science building was # R07. What is R?
S = the Quarry was established in 200S. What is S?
The cache location is N PF° SQ.RNC W DE° KA.JHM
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)