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The Beginning of Iowa City Multi-Cache

This cache has been archived.

Tape worm: Not going to replace it.

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Hidden : 8/24/2010
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:


Historic Iowa City

The land on which Iowa City is located was a wilderness when it was
selected and surveyed for the capital of the Territory of Iowa. The
corner stone of the new capitol building was laid by Governor Luca
on July 4, 1840. The Legislative Assembly met first in a frame
building in 1841: the following year it moved into the new stone
capitol'' now one of Iowa's most prized historic shrines.

Iowa City served as capital for sixteen exciting years.. Here five
sessions of the legislative Assembly and six sessions of the
General Assembly met to enact Iowa laws. Here the Territorial and
State Supreme Courts met to pass on these laws. Here held three
Constitutional Conventions were held '' in 1844, 1846, and in
1857.

The State University was established by law at Iowa City in 1847
but the first classes did not open until 1855. The State Historical
Society of Iowa was established by law at Iowa City in 1857. The
Constitution of 1857 moved the capital to Des Moines, leaving the
University and Historical Society in Iowa City.

Mormon Handcart Trail -1856

In 1856, some 1300 Mormon converts from Europe, many of them wards
of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company, reached the railroad "End
-of-Track" in Iowa City. Their money exhausted, Brigham Young
declared: "Let them come on foot, with hand-carts or wheel-barrows:
let them gird up their loins, and walk through and nothing shall
hinder them."

The Mormons encamped at what is now Coralville while awaiting the
completion of their handcarts. The first company of Mormons set out
bravely from Coralville on June 7, pushing or pulling their carts
through Homestead, Marengo, Newton, Des Moines, Adel, and historic
Dalmanutha. It joined the Mormon Trail of 1846 at Lewis and crossed
the Missouri River north of Council Bluffs. The Mormon Bridge at
North Omaha stands as a symbol to their trek across Iowa.

Meanwhile, two other companies followed close on the heels of the
first Handcart expedition, all three reaching Salt Lake City safely
before cold weather set in. The fourth and fifth Handcart companies
suffered untold hardships and death before they reached their Zion
in present day Utah.

To locate the cache at the posted cords is a large plaque you just
need to answer two questions from the text on that plaque This is a
quick two stage cache:

What year was the Iowa City area surveyed for the capital? Let this
be ABCD

How many Mormon's where is the first company? Let this be EFG

You will find the 50 cal ammo can at:

N 41 4A.G0(E-F)

W 091 40.B6G

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gur fvta unf nyy gur vasb.

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)