GC2D9MW Mercoal Mine #846 (Traditional Cache) in Alberta, Canada created by CoalBranchKid

GC2D9MW ▼

A cache by CoalBranchKid Message this owner

Hidden : 8/10/2010

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Mercoal Mine #846
(1920 to 1959)

Mercoal Mine #846 was one of the larger and more stable of the Coal Branch mines and supported a population of 1000 people in the early 1950s. By then the town claimed a 40-room hotel that had a beverage room and an 80-seat cafe. There was a grocery store or two, a drugstore that also housed the telephone exchange, a car dealership, a dry goods store, an eight-bed medical clinic under the care of a doctor and two nurses, two schools (gr.1-3 & gr.4-9), a couple of churches, a Legion, a Bank of Nova Scotia, a community hall where movies, dances and concerts were held, curling and skating rinks and a baseball diamond.

When the mine closed in 1959 it was the last in the Coal Branch to do so. Most homes were demolished or removed to Edson or Hinton. The mine demolished its buildings and sealed the mine entrances. Mercoal today is a quiet summer village consisting of a number of cottages and homes strung along the old streets of the townsite. Unfortunately in the late 1990s the provincial government decided not to renew the land leases when the present ones expire in 2012. The present owners, like their predeccessors, will have to remove their homes and this historic townsite will soon cease to exist.

~from Exploring the Historic Coal Branch (Kyba & Ross)

You are looking for a small waterproof ID container on a lanyard covered in black hockey tape (looks just like a little wedge of coal!). The hide is *very* winter friendly. There is no need to disturb the area to find the cache. Please tread lightly and respect this historic site.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

av upnrE ,ch upnrE

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)