Fox Locks #2 | Steamboat Fever Mystery Cache
Fox Locks #2 | Steamboat Fever
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Please visit the gallery to see contextual details of this
watercolor
Part of the Fox Locks series, this set of
caches is intended to bring about an awareness and appreciation for
the For River Lock system, including Appleton Locks 1 thru 4, which
were historically restored in 2007 and part of the initial
Lock'n'Key series, while Little Chute and Kaukauna locks will be
added to this series in the near future. These 17 locks in the Fox
River lock system, will again allow navigation downriver from Lake
Winnebago to Green Bay - not possible since the locks closed in
1982.
The previous version(s) of this cache are
being replaced to take advantage of the trail-side signage that has
been in place now for over a year. I've been waiting for the other
lock signage to appear but decided that I have waited long enough
and am recreating some of the Fox Locks caches.
At the posted cords you will be standing in front of the signage
for Appleton Lock No.2 which contains a fascinating look back at
hayday of heavy Steamboat traffic along the Fox River. Indeed,
these 17 locks were created specifically for Steamboat traffic
which was THE premier mode of transportation for a brief period of
time, just prior to the golden age of Rail and Steam powered
locomotives.
Fascinating is the brief history of the Fox Locks system and the
steam-powered traffic that first started using it in AEBJ, hosting as many as FG steamboats every week at its peak. Ironic
that just four years later, iron rails reached the Lower Fox valley
and the days of steamboats were numbered. Looking at the historical
pictures of these once awe-inspiring vessels makes you wonder why
they didn't survive a little longer as a transportation option.
They must have been grand machines and singular spectacles from
shore to residents of the young Appleton who were more inclined to
ride on a horse-drawn carriage than jump on anything powered by
boiling water.
The widest vessel pictured is FG'
wide and it ran for DJ years.
Another pictured craft was built in Oshkosh in AEED and was HCB' long x FI' wide, just big enough to carry a load of
Methodists!
Final Cords are N44°AB.CDE
W88°FG.HIJ
There's so much more to digest here, especially the historic run of
the Aquila from Pittsburg to Portage and points beyond. So
take a little time to soak it in while looking for the final and
try to visualize what it must have been like back then to see a
floating regalia and a riverside spectacle complete with marching
bands and cheering crowds right there along the banks of the Fox.
In fact, if you click the picture below
you will be taken to a deeper historical account of Steamboat
excursions on the Fox and Wolf Rivers, a small excerpt of which
follows. We live in such different times, but I imagine that these
advances in technology and transportation must have been memorable
and even treasured by the inhabitants of the time who lived through
this short bout of Steamboat Fever.
On this day the 133-foot paddle steamer
Aquila puffed up the Fox River to Appleton to meet the steamboat
Pioneer. At approximately eleven o’clock, the Aquila chugged
around the last point below the city into the view of the excited
crowd. As the Aquila came into sight, the air was instantly filled
with exuberant cheers and feverish applause from the animated
assembly of flag-waving well-wishers. After a few moments the brass
band on each vessel began to play triumphant music, accompanied by
the sharp and steady polytonal shriek of steam-whistles. The editor
of the Appleton Crescent described the celebrated meeting as
“one of the most beautiful sights we have ever
seen.”
Although the sight of two steamers passing each other on the Fox
had by this time become common, this meeting was still special, for
the Aquila was the first steam vessel to make the trip by way of
the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers, both of which were now linked
to the Fox by the newly completed Portage Canal. This meeting
symbolized the unification of America’s northeastern water
transportation system, stretching from the Atlantic Coast through
the Great Lakes to the Mississippi-Missouri-Ohio River System. From
the standpoint of national pride, the day was also special because
two examples of one of America’s first serious contributions
to industrial technology, in the form of steam-powered waterborne
transportation, were on display.
Now, if you really want to dig into the history of the Fox the Wolf
and the Lower Wisconsin, and get a jump on the puzzle for the
redesigned #3, you can take click on the image below which will
take you to a great Wiki summary of the entire system from Green
Bay to the Mississippi River.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)