The story begins with William A. Paxton, a namesake plastered across many Omaha landmarks that still stand today. In the late 19th century, Paxton became a successful business man, after coming from humble beginnings. One of his largest endeavors was the creation of the Paxton & Gallagher Company, formed in 1864 with his business partner, Ben Gallagher.
The Paxton & Gallagher Company dealt in wholesale groceries, becoming very prominent in the Omaha area, especially in the early 20th century. When their business was too large for its original property, they began shifting it into a new location, which is now known to all long-time Omaha residents as the city block that held the old Butternut Building. However, the Butternut Building remembered by recent generations did not stand in this spot at the time of their move. The location had a series of smaller buildings packed into one city block, with one large warehouse. As of this time, they only owned the the northwest quarter-block of this lot.
The real jump for the P & G Company occurred in July of 1905 when they bought the six-story warehouse on this lot from the Parlin, Orendorff and Martin Plow Company, which was based out of Illinois. With this purchase, the P & G Company would be firmly planted in their new location, owning half of the block. This allowed the Parlin, Orendorff and Martin Plow Company to build a new warehouse across the street, directly west. This location was also advantageous to P & G since the south half of the block was inhabited by railroad tracks -- ideal for receiving shipments.
In fall of 1906, the P & G Company finally moved into their new warehouse that had been remodeled to suit their needs. This beneficial expansion was short-lived, however, when the east side of the building collapsed in May of 1907. It was initially believed that it was caused by the weight of the water tank on the roof of the building. But John Latenser, the architect of the building, insisted it was the result of an erosion of the foundation by sewers built on the south side. Miraculously, no one was killed or injured by this incident, as it happened in the early morning hours.
This afforded the P & G Company an opportunity to build bigger and better. In 1908, construction of a new nine-story warehouse was completed. All floors were utilized for their grocery business, with the top floors being used for roasting coffee. This coffee was their Butter-Nut coffee brand, which became their stand-out product that they offered. And so this warehouse was the building that later became known as the Butternut Building.
The Paxton & Gallagher Company expanded their campus in multiple directions across city blocks and eventually signed a long-term lease in the building directly west of them, which, as mentioned before, was originally built by the Parlin, Orendorff and Martin Plow Company. Butter-Nut signage can still be seen on the south side of this building today.
The face of their empire changed, though, when Paxton & Gallagher was bought by Gilbert C. and W. Clarke Swanson in 1958, and was officially renamed Butter-Nut Foods Company in 1959. Eventually, in 1961, the Duncan Foods Company and Butter-Nut Foods Company merged. They operated separately, but not long after, the Duncan Foods Company was bought out by the Coca-Cola Company in 1964. Coca-Cola still retained Butter-Nut under their foods division in an attempt to break into the coffee market. However, it sold the coffee-roasting plants and Butter-Nut brand in 1988, to be later bought by Folgers.
The coffee-roasting facility of the Butternut Building closed up shop and was abandoned when Folgers bought Butter-Nut. Folgers took the brand and sold it as Maryland Club Butter-Nut Coffee in certain regions of the country. It has gathered a cult following, and is highly sought-after by loyal drinkers who crave its mild taste. Although it was rumored to have been discontinued by Folgers, consumers have still been able to find them at certain retailers and online outlets (Omaha included).
After the building was left dormant, the Butternut Building was added to the list of the National Register of Historic Places. Years passed until Bluestone Development bought the property and planned to renovate the old building into loft apartments, which was was a growing trend with historical buildings in this area at that time.
Unfortunately, the building was destroyed by a four-alarm fire in the late-night hours of January 7, 2004. I actually witnessed the blazing inferno firsthand and can personally vouch for the fact that the firefighters stood no chance of saving this building against the magnitude of the volcanic flames that licked the night sky. Thankfully, the building was empty at the time of the fire, so no one was hurt. The cause of the fire was ruled an accident, likely from construction equipment left running that had caused too much heat and smoldered for hours before growing into a destructive force.
All that remained after the fire was extinguished was the shell of the outer brick walls. These were eventually demolished as well, as there was no chance of salvaging any part of the structure. This dealt a huge blow to Omaha -- not only did they lose a piece of history, they lost a signature part of its skyline in the way of the large red brick building with the towering Butter-Nut coffee can that could be seen from blocks away. To this day, Omahans still fondly remember the sweet aroma of coffee beans that would waft through the air outside the Butternut building within blocks of it while it was in operation.
Since the time I originally placed the cache, some activity has taken place on this property. After remaining an empty lot for many years, a development company was recently approved to develop the land into a complex containing residential and commercial space. This displaced the original cache, forcing me to relocate it.
The original loft apartments being developed at the time of the fire had a name that was significant to the building. With the destruction of the Butternut Building, this name was later reused for a different building in Omaha by Bluestone Development, yet it made less sense in the context of that particular structure.
This name can be used to help solve the puzzle below for the coordinates of the cache, which is placed near the former site of the Butternut Building.
X = the number derived from the name significant to the building
Y = the average pH level of coffee (rounded to an integer)
N 41° A.B
W 095° C.D
A = (Y / 2) * 4 + Y
B = ((X * 4 - ((X * 2) / 3) * 10) / 2 + (X * (X / 3) - 6)
C = (((Y + 2) * 2) * (Y - 1) - 1) / (Y + 6) * (Y * 2) + Y
D = ((X * Y) * 11) * 2 - (X * (Y * 6) - (X * 3 + (Y - X + 6)))
Have fun, and good luck, cachemates!
