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Osceola#4 Shaft Traditional Cache

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jay2: stolen

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Hidden : 8/1/2013
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

The capped shaft of the Osceola Mine #4 Shaft. I would come in from the east on the old RR grade (off Tecumpseh Rd.). Then cut in to the SW, (about half way between the road and the rock piles), easier hiking.  The cap is an old style method of capping shafts.  They would dump things (often old cars) into the mine until they jammed up, then rocks to fill.


Capping a mine this way is not the most permanent. As there is no safe way to know if the cap is sound, I would recommend not walking on it.

Out of the shaft cap is a lot of water.  There is Hammell Creek, which runs from Swedetown Ponds past the mines.  Google Earth, finds that the creek runs to the west or south of the mine.  It also shows that the creek is a series of very straight canals.  Obviously dug up, I expect they were dug to drain the local swampy land.  More water comes out of the shaft than the creek (where they meet) (or where it left the ponds).  I suspect that most of the water of the creek has drained into the mines. Osceola organized in 1873, worked into late 1800's Took over by C&H in 1909, closed shortly after.

If you want to look over more mine ruins: (from where the RR track meats Tecumseh Rd):   walk SW on Tecumseh Rd, and on the SE side you will find the remains of the hoist house of the #4 shaft.  Also, go across the RR/snowmobile trail to the NE of where you came in from the road, and you will find the remains of the #3 and #4 boilerhouse.  The smoke stack shows this is the boilerhouse.  The elevated RR line went all the way to the RR trail, and was the coal dump line for the boiler (look around, you can still find small pieces of coal.

In Sep 7 1895 a fire in the #3 shaft affected this shaft.  The smoke reached the #4 shaft where most of the bodies were found, over 30 miners died.

Walk NE on Tecumseh road and the ruins on the NW side are the #3 hoisthouse. The coal RR leaving the boiler, does go right past the #3 shafthouse. My maps show that the #3 shaft did not have a rockhouse, and there was a tramline from the #3 shafthouse to the #4 rockhouse (located at the #4 shaft). On the north side of the rockpiles, is the barely capped #3 shaft.....

Additional Hints (No hints available.)