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This cache is located in the vicinity of the now extinct community of Elkhorn, which has been shown to be nine miles east of Clarksville. Elkhorn had a Post Office from June 10, 1884 until it was discontinued November 9, 1885 . Little else, historically, is known about Elkhorn.
Only room for a log sheet, so bring your own pen. After signing the log, please close the container cap and place the cache back where, and in the manner that you found it.
Articles and books on the subject of Red River County have made mention that the pioneers hunted deer, turkey and black bear but there has been no mention of elk. However, articles concerning the distribution of the elk species throughout the United States does not rule out the possibility that elk were present at one time in Red River County.
At one time, various subspecies of the American elk inhabited virtually the entire North American continent from the Pacific to Atlantic oceans and from Mexico to Alaska.
Extinct Subspecies
- The Eastern elk subspecies was found in all the states east of and including Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana. This subspecies was exterminated by the late 1800s by commercial meat and hide market hunters and settlers.
- The Manitoban elk was once found throughout the Midwestern states of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, through the eastern half of Montana, Wyoming and then north into the Canadian prairie provinces.
The Manitoban elk had smaller antlers than today's Rocky Mountain elk, though its body mass was larger. Uncontrolled market hunting sent this subspecies into virtual extinction by 1900, though some scientists believe there is evidence to indicate the Manitoban elk may have bred with today's Rocky Mountain elk.
- The Merriam elk inhabited the arid land of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. Uncontrolled hunting and cattle grazing sent the Merriam elk into extinction by 1906.
Source: HuntingNet.com www.huntingnet.com/staticpages/staticpage_detail.aspx?id=151
Or could Elkhorn have been named for a person?
In the US there are approximately 760 persons with the name Elk.
Thus, the surname Elk is the 35.865 most frequent name in the US.
People with this surname live in 36 states. Most occurrences are in Florida: 23.
Other states with lots of occurrences are Texas (21), New Jersey (19), Pennsylvania (18), New York (17), California (14), South Dakota (9), North Carolina (9), North Dakota (8), as well as Ohio (8).
Source: Dynas Tree www.dynastree.com/maps/detail/elk.html
Most likely, it was named as a remembrance to The Battle of Pea Ridge (also known as Elkhorn Tavern), a land battle of the American Civil War, fought on March 7 and March 8, 1862, at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, near Bentonville. One notable fact of this battle is that it was one of the few in which a Confederate army outnumbered a Union army.
Elkhorn Tavern is a two-story, wood-frame structure that served as a physical epicenter for the American Civil War Battle of Pea Ridge.
Pea Ridge is a name that may be a more familiar name to some of the Red River County residents than the name Elkhorn.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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