Welcome to Humble! Multi-Cache

This cache has been archived.

Shaun&family: Tried to get this one back up and running. With my job and the weather lately that just hasn't happened. Look for a new and revised welcome to humble multi sometime soon.

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Hidden : 3/27/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:




Your adventure, should you choose to accept, will provide you a brief history of the City of Humble! This multi-cache will require you to drive to three historic areas of Humble, TX, collecting a clue at each location. These clues will provide you information on how to find the final coordinates. The final coordinates are less than two miles away from the start, and each location including the final, you are able to drive relatively close to the coordinates.

 Humble was a pioneer oil boom town in the 1900s that originated as a crossroads community. Early records indicate the first settlers arrived in the Humble area during the early 1800s, and Joseph Dunman is believed to be the first settler who arrived in 1828. Pleasant Smith “Plez” Humble (1834-1912), for whom the town was named, settled in the area shortly before the Civil War (1861-1865). After acquiring land along the San Jacinto River, Pleasant began a ferry service where Hwy. 59 currently crosses the river. Pleasant also timbered lumber for railroad ties and mined gravel from his land; was a grocer and shopkeeper; served as justice of the peace; and opened the first post office in his home. City directories from 1883 and 1885 listed Pleasant as a fruit stand operator and wood dealer. In the 1900 census report his occupation was listed as an attorney at law. Other early settlers in the area included the Bender, Durdin, Isaacks, Lee, Slaughter, and Williams families. Economic bases were farms, sawmills, and timber. In March 1904, C. E. Barrett (1866-1926) began drilling for oil on a lease he took on Moonshine Hill, and it was in May 1904 that he discovered oil. On January 7, 1905, D. R. Beatty brought in the number 2 well from block 28 of the Long Subdivision, which yielded 8,500 barrels of oil a day and initiated the great oil boom. By the end of 1905, Humble had grown to a town of approximately 20,000 people. Named for the town, the Humble oil field produced 15,594,923 barrels of oil in 1905, which was the largest number of barrels in Texas for that year. In 1911, a group of operators, including Ross S. Sterling who later served as governor of Texas from 1931 to 1933, incorporated the Humble Oil Company, thus spreading the town's name into the annals of world commerce. By 1946, production from several wells in Humble exceeded the total for the famous Spindletop discovery in Beaumont, Texas on January 10, 1901. Known as the greatest salt dome field, Humble still has producing wells and the town for which it was named continues to thrive.

You should already be at our first stop for clues along this multi-cache, the old First United Methodist Church. Be sure you are currently at N 29° 59.776, W 95° 15.553 (Stage 1).

Humble was an oil boom town in 1907 when Reverend J. T. Browning of Houston began conducting Methodist worship services for area residents. Services were originally held in a building that previously housed a bottle factory. In [Clue 1 = WHAT YEAR?], the church was organized with [Clue 2 = # MEMBERS] charter members. The following year, the congregation constructed a small frame structure as their first building that was later destroyed by fire. Subsequent church facilities have reflected the continued growth of the congregation and community.

Next, drive to Lambrecht's Artesian Well, N 29° 59.956 W 095° 15.452 (Stage 2).



An oil well drilled at this site in [Clue 3 = WHAT YEAR?] yielded not oil, but free-flowing artesian water. The following year, German native Nick Lambrecht ([Clue 4 = WHAT YEAR?]-1920) purchased the property. Lambrecht served as justice of the peace and mayor during Humble's oil boom days in the early 20th century. In 1904, he installed a water system to meet the needs of the many oil field workers who came to town. Lambrecht's artesian well was used to supply water to bathhouses and piped to nearby homes. In earlier years, water had been hauled to town in barrels on horse-drawn wagons.

The last information gathering stage of the multicache is at Moonshine Hill. Let's drive there now, N 29° 59.969 W 095° 14.032 (Stage 3)



Early reports of natural gas seepages in the Moonshine Hill Settlement, a section of the Humble oil field, were not uncommon in the late 19th century. James Slaughter noticed such natural occurrences near the San Jacinto River in 1887. Several years later, he set up a drilling operation in the area with S. A. Hart, but it proved unsuccessful. Charles E. Barrett, a Houston retailer, began drilling on Moonshine Hill in March 1904 and discovered oil in May 1904. Walter Sharp, Ed Prather, and Howard R. Hughes of the Moonshine Oil Company were next to drill. In 1904, the Higgins Oil Company brought in a major gas well and the following year, the first successful oil well was drilled. Within months of the 1904 discovery and the first gusher on January 9, 1905, the population of Moonshine Hill increased to 10,000 and the town grew to include boardinghouses, hotels, livery stables, saloons, and stores. By 1909, there were several saloons, three grocery stores, a dance hall, drugstore, meat market, postal station, two-room schoolhouse, and a church. Despite three separate boom eras, the last occurring in [Clue 5 = WHAT YEAR?], Moonshine Hill declined as a community. Its brief existence, however, had a dramatic impact on the economic development of Humble and Houston. [Clue 6 = WHAT ADDRESS IS ON THE HOUSE BEHIND THE MARKER?]

[the address number you need is 4 less than the house next door (to the east).] Clue 1 = ABCD
Clue 2 = EF
Clue 3 = GHIJ
Clue 4 = KLMN
Clue 5 = OPQR
Clue 6 = STUV

Final Coordinates:
N EC° (S+T-R)(K+L-B).UIC
W PN° (M+N-A-D)(O+Q).(F+J)(U+V)(C+R-I)

Click to verify coordinates

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Nsgre JC3, qevir gb gur Svany Pbbeqvangrf naq nccebnpu sebz gur RNFG! Qb abg nccebnpu sebz gur jrfg be gur fbhgu. Gurer vf nofbyhgryl ab ohfujnpxvat erdhverq sbe guvf pnpur, fb qba'g znxr gur svany uneqre guna vg arrqf gb or! Nafjre gb Dhrfgvba 6 2735

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)


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