The Gazebo Traditional Cache

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Hidden : 3/16/2008
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Cache is in the heart of Verbena. Level terrain, short walk from parking to cache. The gazebo is great for sitting and watching and listening to the sites and sounds of small town southern living.

Verbena, a town born of yellow fever

One of the most dreaded diseases during the late nineteenth century in Alabama was yellow fever. Alabama is located in the center of an area where approximately 50 epidemics struck between the years 1705 and 1905. The worst epidemic in Montgomery came in 1873. The high death rate and horrible effects of yellow fever made it one of the worst diseases known at the time and then there was no known cure.

People fled big cities for mountains and resorts. As a result of fleeing the fever and fear in Montgomery, a town was born -Verbena. In the late 1870's and 1880's, many prominent families from Montgomery built summer homes in Verbena to escape the heat and the possibility of catching the dread disease. Many who came for the summer decided to become permanent residents.

The wild flower, verbena, grew in abundance and another of the early settlers, Colonel P. T. Sayre, many times wore a sprig of this purple flower in his lapel. This is the only town in the country named Verbena.

Verbena had many things to offer those seeking refuge from yellow fever. There was plenty of clean, fresh air and virgin forests. The altitude of 450 feet was relatively high, and beautiful. Chestnut Creek, provided power for wheat and corn mills.

There were some settlers in the area before the fear of yellow fever brought enough people to establish a town. In 1832, Peter Cooper obtained land from the United States government and settled in what is now Verbena. He owned more than a thousand acres of land that he farmed with slave labor. Through Verbena were driven mules by traders from Tennessee and Kentucky. Also, herds of hogs were driven to New Orleans and Mobile through the area. Apple farmers hauled their crops to southern markets, and many of these traveled to a plantation which stood near one of the main north-south travel routes.

Cooper owned saw mills, grist mills, and cotton gins which were located on Chestnut Creek. Two well established stage coach routes were near Verbena. About four miles out was the old Tuscaloosa-Montgomery route, and a route from Tennessee, the old Montevallo Road, came quite close.

At one time, Verbena had a mine which was one of the leading producers of gold in the state. The mine was named Repito and was worked from 1835 to 1849. Some sizable nuggets were found but the main source of gold was never located. William Lanier, an uncle of Sidney Lanier, dug and panned for gold in the area in 1866. He had been one of the original forty-niners in the famed California gold rush!

Verbena has its cherished memories and is still an active community. Today this quite peaceful little community ...born of yellow fever ...is, "a remnant of the Old South" and still very much alive.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fznyy pnzbhsyntrq cynab pbagnvare.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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