St. Michael's Stash Traditional Cache
cashncarrie: missing and needs to be replaced.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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You are looking for a regular sized cache. Be respectful as you make your way to GZ, please.
A brief history lesson...
Old St. Michael's Church and Cemetery are located in Greene Township, Iowa County, in Holbrook, Iowa. Holbrook is an unassociated community that lies in the eastern portion of the state.
Holbrook was not the first location in this general area to be settled. An area around Old Man's Creek, called Ricord's settlement, was the first place to be settled. Old Man's Creek empties into the Iowa River south of Iowa City. Immigrants had settled here and followed the creek westward for further settlement.
Settlers frequently settled along creek and riverbeds in Eastern Iowa. Their reason for doing so was two-fold. Firstly, a creek or river guaranteed an easily accessible water source. Secondly, creek and riverbeds were the only places in Eastern Iowa, where the landscape was rapidly giving way to prairie, that standing timbers could be found.
Timber was extremely important to early settlers because it was from this material that they were able to construct permanent homes. When enough men had gathered into the area they came together for a "house raising." Several men were needed to complete this task because of the tremendous weight of the logs used.
It is recorded that Thomas Hanson, one early settler of the Holbrook area, frequently brought a priest from Iowa City in a lumber wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. Virtually all members of the settlement would make their way to Thomas Hanson's home to attend the services. It was soon after these masses began to be said that the first church in Holbrook was built.
(These are excerpts from the Friends of Old St. Michael's webpage found at the following URL address: http://oldstmichaels.com/ )
This particular area of Iowa County is hilly and beautiful. It will make for a nice drive and there are a few other caches within a 10 mile radius that you can grab while you're at it. Have fun!!
This cache was posted with Loretta Hanson's permission.
Thank you Loretta!!
Additional Hints
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