The Prettiest Natural Park in Western Port St. Lucie
Oak Hammock is a 48-acre park in western Port St. Lucie. They're open from 7 a.m. to dusk (Manned from 7 a.m. to noon weekdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends)
Some of the amenities include:
- C-24 canal boat ramp with floating dock (west of spillway; no river or ocean access)
- One large pavilion (36 feet by 20 feet) with three 6-foot tables and one 8-foot table, water, electricity and one large grill
- Fenced play area with benches, ages 2–12
- Twelve car/trailer spaces and car parking
- Two fishing piers, one with fish cleaning station
- Walking, bicycling and dog walking (on leash in designated areas along C-24 canal)
- Butterfly garden and approximately three miles of walking trails through large oak and palm hammocks
- Established 2000
Martin County's Infamous Deputy
The woods of Oak Hammock come with a dark and murky past. Back in January of 1973, serial killer Gerard Shaefer murdered two girls in the park. While he wasn’t charged with the murders of Colette Goodenough and Barbara Ann Wilcox, whose remains were not discovered until January of 1977, items belonging to the girls were found in his home. He was in the habit of keeping small reminders of his victims. In this case he kept Barbara's driver's license and Collette's passport, her diary, and a book of poetry.
The Two Who Got Away
In July of 1972 Shaefer kidnapped two girls and took them to Hutchinson Island where they were also bound, gagged, and suspended in nooses. When he left the area, they slipped out of the bindings and got away.
He lost his job as a deputy of Martin County and was arrested by the very man he worked for, Sheriff Crowder. He maintained that he was trying to teach the girls a lesson for hitchhiking.
Shaefer was sentenced to 1 year in prison and 3 months probation in December of 1972. He entered prison on January 15th. In those few short weeks after sentencing and before entering prison, Shaefer kidnapped and murdered Colette and Barbara Ann.
His prison sentence lasted 6 months; he was released early for good behavior.
The Cache
Due to another cache's proximity to the trees, I'm unable to get closer, but I've provided the coords and pictures of both trees so you know what you're looking for. While you are looking for a pico cache, the host container is much larger. However, you still need to bring your own pen. This may change in the near future as the host can certainly hold more. Please let us know what you think of the container. We tried to keep in mind the park's history, natural beauty, and creep factor. We hope we've achieved all three.
Additional Links:
FaceBook's PSL Devil Tree Page
Jeff's Oak Hammock Park PPT
Congratulations go to Srwyrabit & wileycyt59 for their creepy FTF!