GC4CQMH Couch Tomb \ Lincoln Park Graveyard (Traditional Cache) in Illinois, United States created by stealthmfw

This cache has been archived.

Reviewer Smith: As I have not heard from the cache owner within the requested time frame, the cache is being archived.

https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=38&pgid=56

"If a cache is archived by a reviewer or staff for lack of maintenance, it will not be unarchived."

Reviewer Smith

GC4CQMH ▼

A cache by stealthmfw Message this owner

Hidden : 5/28/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Legends of Why the Couch Tomb still stands in Lincoln Park (since 1858) are many, but the real reason is this!! Its great stones are fastened together with copper rivets, so there’s no way of dismantling and moving it without blowing it up or wrecking it completely. The Illinois Supreme court thought it over and ruled that Couch’s Tomb could remain when the other buried graves in Lincoln Park (Old Cemetery Park) were removed.

How many people are buried inside Couch’s Tomb still remains a mystery, but the best guess is: (Mr. Ira Couch, Mrs. Couch, their Father, Mother, brother James Couch and two children who died young, one of whom was interred in the vault at the request of Ira Couch’s wife).

Chicago’s Lincoln Park was once the final resting place for more than 35,000 Chicagoans. And it may still serve as the graveyard for as many as 12,000 people buried during the mid-1800s.

In 1842, when Chicago was a mere town of 7,000 people, the cemetery was carved from 100 acres of undeveloped land beyond North Avenue (then Chicago’s northernmost point), and set aside.

In 1998, in the midst of the construction of a Chicago Parking Garage in Lincoln Park (1731 N. Clark), the remains of 81 people were found, along with one Iron coffin (an expensive but popular casket in the 19th century). The Iron coffin perfectly preserved the contained body as it was airtight, but the coffin was sheared during excavation, immediately beginning to decompose the body, releasing a putrid odor.

Special thanks to Pamela Bannos for info and whose Hidden Truth project tries to uncover the real story behind Chicago’s Cemetery Park.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ybbx HC gur Enoovg Ubyr

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)

This cache has been archived.

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Couch Tomb \ Lincoln Park Graveyard Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

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