The property owners have graciously given us permission to place a cache here. So please, if you can, show your appreciation for their support of geocaching. Note: They have requested that you do not leave your car unattended for any extended length of time. If you're looking for the cache it's O.K. Also, it's not a good idea to try to find this cache between 9pm and 6am, as the Hanover deputies keep an eye out for unusual activity on the premises. You've been warned!
If you have some time to spare while you are here you may want to check out the historic Beaverdam train depot and Pop's Country Store Museum. Both are just a short distance away with their own parking.
Now on with the hunt;
The final stage coords have been encrypted with a three step process as follows: (Bring a pencil and paper, you'll need it.)
Step 1 - Use the standard decryption key; A=N B=O C=P etc...
Step 2 - Next use this key to decrypt; A=9 B=8 C=7 and so on....
Step 3 - The last decryption key is this; 0=9 1=8 2=7 3=6 so forth and so on....
Using the decryption key steps above you should have the coords for the cache. You will not have to leave the property to find it.
Original Contents:
1 - FTF Geocoin
1 - Official game piece notification card
1 - Log book/pencil/sharpener
1 - Zip loc bag
1 - Key lanyard
1 - Hacky sack
1 - Duncan Imperial yo-yo
1 - Squirt gun
1 - New 69 Hotwheels Chevy Nova
1 - Leather Timberland pendent
1 - Compass
1 - Winnie the Pooh figure
1 - Captin America button
1 - Magnetic Smiley Face
1 - Pirate token
1 - Rubber finger
2 - Dice
2 - Geocaching.com marble
2 - Plastic army men
Congratulations Geochloe for being the FTF!
A little history about Beaverdam, VA:
Beaver Dam is approximately 40 miles north, northwest of Richmond. The station name is taken from the plantation of Col. Edmund Fontaine, once a president of the railroad. The plantation itself was named for the creek which bisected it.
The original Beaver Dam station was built in 1840 and was one of only 10 depots on the line in 1850. It was burned several times during the Civil War. On July 20, 1862 a Federal raid destroyed the depot and captured Colonel John Mosby. The station was rebuilt and then destroyed again on February 29, 1864. Once again the station was rebuilt. In May of 1864, Sheridan was assigned to disrupt Lee’s railroad operations. On May 9, Sheridan’s advance brigade, commanded by Custer, attacked Beaver Dam. The Federal troops burned supplies intended for the Army of Northern Virginia, including nearly all the medical supplies. They also destroyed 29 loaded freight cars, 2 locomotives, and about 1 mile of track. In 1866 a brick station was built on the site of the stations destroyed in the Civil War. That station is still standing and is now in the National Register of Historical Places.
In December, 1923 the passing track in Beaver Dam was extended and a new spur track was added. The 1937 Side Track Record showed a 496' house track (track number 851), a 3365' passing siding (track number 849), and a 522' team track (track number 850). In May, 1940 the C&O retired the water station in Beaver Dam. Track 850 was extended in August of 1948. According to the C&O’s 1950 Industrial Directory, Beaver Dam had a team track with a capacity of 13 cars. For some reason, it also listed the Teman team track under Beaver Dam; that siding had an 8 car capacity. Those sidings served the following industries: the Birchall-Hammer Lumber Co. (sawmill), the A. L. Luckado coal yard, Linwood Marks (pulpwood shipper), the R. S. McDonald lumber yard, and E. C. Terrell (pulpwood shipper). A turnout was added to the east end of track 850 in July, 1957 and the track was again extended in July of 1960. A final extension occured in June, 1972. The Beaver Dam station still stands. It was sold to a preservation group (along with 294' of the house track) in 1987.
