Terminus Thacher Traditional Cache

This cache is located just 750 feet west of the site where Thacher, NE once stood. The town should show up on your GPSr's basemap, but if not, it is the site of the large plum thicket you will pass en route to obtain this find. The terrain is level and paved with gravel except for the last few feet. Parking is available at the waypoint below, so please do not park on the road.

Erected shortly after the railroad was laid to the area in 1882, Thacher was named for J.M. Thacher, who was a post trader at Fort Niobrara. The railroad built a section house, a large depot, and stock yards. Within a short time a tent town sprang up, and there were eating shacks, a general store, and five saloons.

Thacher had the distinction as being at the end of the line until April 01, 1883, when the rail was finished to Valentine, and the railroad continued its westward crawl. The town had three school districts--No. 6, organized in 1883, No. 42 organized in 1887, and No. 62 organized in 1888. No. 6 was made of sod, while the other two were framed, and when the first school opened September 21, 1890, there was no floor, seats, or blackboard in the building.

The early settlers of this community practiced farming, but now most of it is used for hay production and grazing, with only portions of the area near Schlagel Creek being used for farming. The railroad has long removed its buildings, and now there's not even a wide spot in the road to mark the existence of this frontier town.

You will be looking for a .30 caliber ammo can hidden in a coppice of cottonwood trees along the Cowboy Trail right of way. You will not have to cross any fences to find this cache. The road to the parking area is a range road and you have permission to drive on this road, but leaving the road constitutes trespassing. Respect the area, CITO if needed, and rehide the cache using the natural materials for camoflage. Thank you and good luck.