Van Horn Upper Reservoir Upslope Traditional Cache
SlumberBear: Cache has gone missing, opening this area up to others.
Van Horn Upper Reservoir Upslope
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This cache is located somewhere on a small slope that leads up to the highest point in Springfield's Van Horn Park. The cache is located in a wooded area, off of a paved pedestrian/bike patch that goes around the Upper Van Horn Reservoir. The waterbody is the site of one of the early water supplies for the City of Springfield, MA, and is now part of a popular public park. Many walkers, joggers and bikers frequent this park's natural setting.
The cache is located away from the waterbody, on an upslope that leads to the highest elevation in Van Horn Park. The cache contains a log book, pencil and the First to Find gets to keep the US coin that is placed in the cache.
Of the early hisory of water-supply in Springfield, Massachusetts, prior to 1843, the City was supplied mainly by private wells; and, in June of that year, the Honorable Charles Stearns (of Stearns Square fame) built a reservoir on a site located in the Liberty Heights neighborhood, near Freeman Terrace, off Carew Street, which is now a wooded/marsh area, with part of the site underneath Route 291. At the same time, Sterns laid about eight miles of log pipes through various streets to serve the residents and businesses of the city, and to provide fire protection.
In June1848 the Springfield Aqueduct Company was chartered, succeeded by the City Aqueduct Company on September 10, 1860. This company was reported as controlling "the two Van Horn reservoirs", the latter of which were presumably built in the preceding 12 years. The Van Horn Dams and Reservoirs reportedly were used by the Springfield Aqueduct Company to provide water supply and/or fire protection to sections of Springfield. When built, the capacity of the Lower Van Horn reservoir, 73,655,095 gallons; the Upper Van Horn, 27,952,720.
The city purchased the company in 1873, and ownership was transferred to the Springfield Water Department. The dam was subsequently conveyed to the Park Department in 1909, for recreational usage within Van Horn Park.
The Van Horn Park Upper Dam is on the Van Horn Pond River and is used for recreation purposes. Construction of the most recent restoration of the dam was in 1957. Van Horn Park Upper Dam is of earthen construction, a gravity dam. Its length is 550 feet. Its capacity is 96 acre-feet. Normal storage is 79 acre-feet. It drains an area of 0.46 square miles.
Van Horn Park Lower Dam is on the Van Horn Park Pond River and is still used as a flood control reservoir. Construction on this most recent version of the dam was also completed in 1957. Van Horn Park Lower Dam is of earthen construction, a gravity dam. Its length is 800 feet. Its capacity is 316 acre-feet. Normal storage is 219 acre-feet. It drains an area of 0.54 square miles.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Lbh qba'g unir gb ybbx gb uvtu gb svaq gur gernfher.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures