The end of Lake Shady Multi-Cache
This cache has been locked, but it is available for viewing.
A cache by [DELETED_USER]
Hidden
:
7/16/2011
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A wooden dam built in 1867 by three men from Iowa first formed what had come to be known as Lake Shady. Two branches of the Zumbro River came together here which created swift, strong current. Just what was needed to create power power for an ensuing sawmill and small grist mill. Thus the life of Lake Shady began. In the first years of the dams life, gold was discovered and a mining operation was under way. Wooden dams came and went along with different mill operations, but one by one each dam would be swept downstream by the power of local floodwaters.
As time went on, the river and lake gradually began to be used more for recreation than a power source. Homes started springing up on the 130 acre lake by families such as Mayo, Plummer, and Kahler. In 1924, the last wooden dam was torn away by raging floodwaters and it wasn't until the 1930's when a new concrete dam that remained in use until 2010 created a bigger 179 acre Lake Shady.
In the last three decades, siltation, which was always ongoing, increased dramacticly due to changing farming practices and increases from urban developments upstream. Around 1945, it has been noted that the lake was as much as 20 ft. deep in some places, but by the early 2000's the lake would barely float a conoe or rowboat. The lake west of HWY 52 suffered the most from heavy siltation. As of 2010, that part of the lake was more of a wetland than waterway.
Around the early 2000's the concrete dam, which had little maintance over the years, was beyond repair and was in need of replacement, or removal altogether, ending Lake Shady as we know it. In September 2010, mother nature made the final decision on the dam removal, when heavy rainfall measuring 8 inches in some areas caused serious flood damage to the dam and the CSAH 18 bridge just above it. This drained Lake Shady for good and made total dam removal a no braine In time, the remainder of the dam will be removed and the lakebed restored.
Plans include:
Trails and a pedestrian bridge over the river
wetland features
canoe landing for the river
planting of trees and native grasses
a 600 foot rapids to replace the dam
historical kiosks
The first cache is a pill bottle along a fenceline on a frontage road where the coords. for the final cache can be found. The final cache is best found by parking in beautiful downtown Oronoco and walking to the cache.
Optional: Take a picture of the damsite or towards the north showing where Lake Shady once was and what improvements have been made to date.
sources: Oronoco.com
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Treasures
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