Corinne, Historic Railroad Town and "Gentile City" Traditional Cache
Hidden : 3/7/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

A micro hidden at a roadside historical exhibit.  A great stop for those driving through to visit Golden Spike NHS about 25 miles away.  Automobile parking is on the south side of the display in an unimproved lot.  Semi and large vehicle parking along the shoulder of the road only.

Since I started Geocaching in Aug 2010, there has never been a cache in the town of Corinne, Utah, although I am aware of a few archived caches that were here.  I find it amazing that there isn't even a Virtual here, because of the town's notable place in Utah history.

Named for the daughter of one of the town's founders (General J.A. Williamson), Corinne was established in 1869 on the western shore of the Bear River on the Union Pacific line as the Transcontinental Railroad neared completion.  The town was founded by a group of former Union army officers and non-Mormon merchants seeking to capitalize on the anticipated rail traffic passing through the Utah Territory and to create a transfer station for wagons coming to and from the north, particularly mines in Montana.  They created an oasis, of sorts, distinguishing themselves the Latter-day Saint settlements of Utah.

During its heyday for about the next ten years, the city was known as "The Gentile Capital of Utah" (in Utah, the more common meaning of "Gentile" is "non-Mormon"), whose local newspaper boasted about 1,000 permanent residents, "not one of whom was a Mormon."  Though many of the permanent residents attempted to nurture community pride and peaceful cultural pursuits, the town's businesses, including it's 15 saloons and 16 liquor stores, served an independent and raucous clientele of freighters and stagecoachers continually passing through.  The town became the Dodge City of Utah, with a gun-fighting town marshal to keep order.

The demise of Corinne came as the narrow-gauge Utah Northern Railroad was completed in 1877 connecting Ogden to the Montana Trail via Franklin, Idaho and Marsh Valley, thus offering a faster north-south route than wagon traffic through Corinne.  Many of the original Corinnethian merchants resettled in Ogden or near the terminus of the new rail line. Mormon farmers soon began buying land around the city.  Today, Corinne has just under 700 residents.  On a few nights each summer since 2004, local residents have presented a comedic historical pageant titled "Corinne: The Gentile City" free of charge on the lawn of the city park.

This roadside exhibit commemorates the pioneer history of the area, and offers some modern and historical insights and additional tourist information (misspellings and all).  If you have time to check out other places in Corinne, there are several sites nearby, many of which are Waymarks. Some of these sites including the oldest existing Protestant church built in Utah, a Masonic lodge, and the first publicly-funded (not Church-affiliated) school in Utah.  The exhibit identifies several other destinations in Box Elder County, including the Bear River Bird Refuge to the south, and Golden Spike and the ATK (Thiokol) Rocket Garden to the west on Hwy 83.

I pass by here on a near-daily basis, so please let me know if the cache needs attention, and I will take care of it.

For additional information, see also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinne,_Utah
http://www.onlineutah.com/corinnehistory.shtml
http://archives.utah.gov/research/agencyhistories/222.html
http://www.bearriverheritage.com/DrawRegions.aspx?RegionID=1&RegionItemTypeID=1
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700238379/Corinne-celebrates-keeps-history-alive.html?pg=all

Congratulations to 58mcall on FTF!
Honorable mentions to Hendersons5 and mrs. rocketsciguy for making it to GZ before the FTF but failing to sign the log.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

zntargvp, nfx gur zhyrfxvaare

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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