Small-town cemeteries can be very interesting places. Modern cemeteries are often rather predictable, with headstones laid out in very regular grids and fairly uniform sizes. Not so with some small-town examples. Many, like this one in Wheatland, CA, have headstones dating back to the turn of the 20th century and earlier. The earliest date I found on any of the stones here was 1845, but perhaps there are a few even older. The quaint lettering on the stones, along with the wrought iron fences around family plots and other reserved areas, make the age of these sites even more explicit. This is truly a little piece of Americana, right here in rural California.
This is my first placed cache ever, anywhere. I hope it isn't the last! I know of few containers of this type in this area, and thought this might be a good place for one. A few years ago, there was another cache inside of this cemetery, but it has since been archived. This cache is located just outside of the cemetery. You do NOT need to enter the cemetery to retrieve it. If you do choose to enter the park, please be respectful of the posted hours, the gravesites themselves, and any other visitors, muggle or otherwise.
This cache is located across the street from a middle school, so please be stealthy on weekdays, especially during school hours (roughly 7am - 4pm).
A couple of things to note:
- Bring your own marking device, as there is no room for a pen in the container.
- The cache should NOT be on the ground. If you find it there, please notify me privately.
* * * Congratulations to retiredprof for being the FTF! * * *
UPDATE, 03-Nov-2016: The "Related Web Page" link toward the top of the listing is dead. The server appears to still be active but the site-specific page is unavailable. That page is not under my control, but I'll leave the link there for now just in case the page comes back.
UPDATE, 11-Nov-2016: The "Related Web Page" link toward the top of the listing is alive again, sort of, but does not contain any information pertinent to this listing. I decided to link to the archive.org copy of the site. I'm still hoping the original site comes back but I'm not hopeful at this point.
UPDATE, 20-July-2017: In order to avoid adding to this location's clientele, I've attempted to rate this cache as accurately as I could on handicaching.com, resulting in a rating of H13414.
Be warned that there may be some spoily information included in this rating, so read it at your own risk!
UPDATE, 09-Jun-2023: This cache has been replaced (same type of container, same location), but the attachment mechanism is significantly weaker than it had been for previous incarnations of this cache. So please replace it carefully and make sure it is secure. Thanks!