While traveling to Holton, KS, on New Years Eve Day to do some hiking and geocaching, stopped by to place a cache in this cemetery north of Topeka, KS.
There used to be a multi-cache placed in this little cemetery a while ago. The cache was archived. After doing some research, discovered that the original CO passed away and the cache was discontinued.
In HONOR and TRIBUTE to the former CO, I placed this cache in this cemetery (+ that small multi-cache always seemed to get the best of me - never did find it). Always thought that this cemetery deserved a cache.
Cemetery is located about 1/4 mile or so east of intersection of US Hwy 75 and 62nd Road. Cemetery is on north side of 62nd Road.
Cache container that you will be searching for is a medium sized PILL BOTTLE.
As always with cemeteries, please observe any/all rules/regulations that may be posted and that we have all seen on other page write-ups.
This cemetery is named in honor of Chief Half Day of the Potawatomi Nation. The story of his name is that it took him that long to come down to Topeka from the reservation, near Mayetta, His Indian name Hefda "Aptakisic"'Optageshic" meant "sun at its meridian" or half of the day. An early cartographer spelled it Half Day when writing about him and so it remained. Chief Half Day of the Potawatomi Lived along the Fox River in Illinois untill the forced removal of Potawatomi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potawatomi_Trail_of_Death Chief Halfday had great negotiation skills at the Treaty of Chicago (1833) where he demanded that any new land reserved in the west must be inspected and approved by the tribe before they moved there. The first reservation in Iowa was rejected and the Prairie Band Potawatomi, who migrated from Chicago in 1835, settled in the Platt Country of northern Missouri and southern Iowa before finally relenting to live on the reservation in Kansas by 1846. Taken to Iowa and ultimately to Kansas, the Potawatomi had to leave their land, and repeated removals occurred until few Potawatomi remained in Illinois and other states. Many Indians lost their lives on these removals, especially children and elders. It was a tragic time in history. Most Americans today have heard of the Trail of Tears for the Cherokee, but few know of the removals in Illinois. After settling on the reservation north of Topeka Chief Half Day, his wife and their daughter often camped along Halfday creek that bears his name on trips into Topeka.
The three are buried in a pasture near the creek at N.W. 39th Street and Button Rd. The graves are unmarked. The Half Day Cemetery that sets about two blocks east of Hwy 75 and 62nd Street also bears the name Half Day. The cemetery founded in February 1877 on land donated by John Bell, one of the signers of the charter for the cemetery.