the heart of gerstle park Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Nomex: Hi
As there's been no cache to find for months, I'm temporarily archiving this to keep it from continually showing up in search lists. Just contact us when you have the cache repaired, [RED]and assuming it still meets the guidelines[/RED], we'll be happy to unarchive it.

Don't hesitate to email me via the link on my Profile if you have any questions. [red]Please be sure to include the cache name and GC Code, or better yet, the URL of the cache page.[/red]

Thanks for your cooperation!
Nomex
Northern California Volunteer Cache Reviewer

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Hidden : 6/12/2008
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


***** Backyard History Geocache Series No. 4 ******


        "san rafael's little bavaria"


lewis gerstle was born in a small bavarian town along the river gunz on december 17, 1824.  he emigrated from germany to the united states in 1845, working his way across the seas as a deck boy.  arriving in louisville, he worked as a peddler, and then moved to new orleans in 1849.  lured by the prospects of the gold rush, he moved again to california in 1850, selling apples in san francisco before getting a job as a day laborer in the mines at placerville.  soon he opened a small business operating the first pony express in prairie lewis gerstle city, near sacramento.  in 1853, he opened a produce and grocery business in sacramento with his partner and good friend, louis sloss, also a bavarian immigrant.  the business prospered despite being flooded twice (including the great flood of 1862).  the partners then moved to san francisco where they went into the lucrative mining stock brokerage business.  not only were lewis gerstle and louis sloss partners, but they came to be related when lewis married hannah greenebaum and louis married hannah's sister, sarah.  the sisters, also bavarian natives, had come to california with their father when they were children.

when the united states purchased alaska from russia in 1867 (for $7.2 million), gerstle and sloss, together with a number of other partners, seized upon the opportunity and purchased the russian-american trading company from its russian owners, renaming it the alaska commercial company.  the company operated general merchandise stores in alaskan villages from 1868 to 1922, including the klondike gold rush period of the late 1890's.  the stores often served as the village courthouse and post office, where one could trade gold, fish or furs (instead of cash) for merchandise.  the alaska commercial company obtained an exclusive twenty-year concession from the united states government in 1870, for the taking of fur-bearing seals from the pribilof islands and aleutian islands, for which the company paid the government about 9 million dollars (covering the entire cost of the purchase of alaska).  the company, of which lewis gerstle was president from 1885 until his death in 1902, proved to be a great success, supplying the whole world with dyed sealskins, and contributing greatly to the development of alaskan villages.

in 1881, lewis gerstle, with his wife hannah and their seven children, took a ferry boat to sausalito then boarded the train to san rafael, where they rented a summer home on san rafael avenue.  they bought the property soon thereafter and began the process of creating "violet terrace," as the property was called.  the existing building was immediately modernized by the addition of plumbing.  a greenhouse and new stable were added, as well as a separate building for the servants.  around 1890, another large house was built on the lower terrace, followed by a third house on the upper terrace built for the gerstle's married daughter, clara gerstle mack.  In time the gerstle's summer estate had 36 bedrooms and 16 baths, and a year-round staff to maintain the hillside property, including its extensive gardens, vined trellisses, chicken coops, tennis court, a summer pavilion in the redwood grove, and an apricot orchard.

top of grove street the sloss family purchased the neighboring property in 1883 and built a large house with room for their six children and nine servants.  as the gerstle and sloss families grew, violet terrace swarmed with grandchildren and then great grandchildren, there eventually becoming so many that the younger generations couldn't keep track of all the cousins, aunts and uncles, and usually had to cope with four grandparents and two great grandmothers.  it was common to have fifty people for lunch.  and every friday night for many years, family members would arrive at the train station a few blocks away, and then be chauffeured up to violet terrace where they would "gorge themselves on fine old family dinners."

two of the gerstle daughters, sophie and bertha, married brothers theodore and john leo lilienthal, both of whom died at a young age, leaving behind young widows with children.  the two boys, mark and william gerstle, married sisters hilda and sarah heft (the heft and lilienthal families were also from bavaria).  alice gerstle married jacob levison, the head of fireman's fund.  the youngest daughter, florence isabella (bella), married mortimer fleishhacker, a prominent san francisco banker and businessman.  together they built the fleishhacker country estate in woodside, called "green gables", designed by the renowned architects greene and greene.

the gerstle and sloss families enjoyed their san rafael summer homes for over fifty years.  in 1936, six years after hannah's death, the gerstle family donated the violet terrace property to the city of san rafael to be used as a park.  the main house was destroyed by an arson fire in 1955 -- the foundation can still be seen if you go exploring through the park -- the other structures were later torn down.  the neighboring sloss home still stands and is now the gerstle park inn (on grove street).

park entrancegerstle park is the heart of the gerstle park neighborhood.  there are many things to explore in the park, including the playgrounds on the large lower terrace, the recently refurbished dragon (the only remnant of the old playground on the upper terrace), the redwood grove, and the tennis courts.  there is a hiking trail leading up the hill past some huge old trees that were used a hundred years ago as hiding spots by the gerstle grandchildren.  remains of the orchard can be seen above the tennis courts.  the trail leads up to a fire road in city-owned open space (where you will find a companion cache, "above gerstle park").

within the park there is a plaque dedicated to cesare bettini.  cesare, an italian who came from switzerland at the age of 17, was the beloved caretaker of violet terrace for many years.  he was also the father of paul bettini, mayor of san rafael from 1965 to 1979, who lived at violet terrace for over 20 years.

the park and adjacent open space are open from sunrise to sunset.   the cache can be found without leaving the path (i.e., please don't trample the flora).

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

liv eb frreg frufho enra gba

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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