The cache is a VERY VERY "LARGE" container perfect for large tradeable items, so kids bring your old toys and treasurers to trade! Big kids bring any trackables you need to unload.
THE HISTORY
The victorian home you see before you is a true Elk Grove treasure. It was purchased by my parents in 1986 and has been kept in our family for the last 28 years. It is my current home again, which is very exciting. My late father, Ed Frutchey was a history buff and member of the Elk Grove Historical Society. He did countless research on this property in his attempt to get it on the official historic Elk Grove registry. He passed along his findings and stories to us kids.
The home was built in 1910 and was the original single story parsonage for the Presbyterian Church. That church and this house used to sit on the corner of Gage and Elk Grove Blvd. where Elk Grove United Methodist Church is now. It is the 3rd oldest residence in Elk Grove. (If you get the chance, drive around the corner to walnut st. on the east side of the block and view the George Kerr home built in the late 1800s which I believe is the oldest.)
On February 4, 1923 the Presbyterian Church partnered with the United Methodist Church and rebuilt the church for joint use. Needing more room it was decided to move the parsonage further away. This was accomplished with the help of horses and large logs on which the house was placed and rolled. (Boy that would have been a sight to see!) Once in place a firm foundation was built and the parsonage was sold. The first owner (a carpenter) decided to build the large metal barn/shed on the east side of the property to house his many projects. Shortly there after a second story was added to the home. The chimney on the home is the original brickwork. There were a couple other owners over the next 60 years before my father happened upon it in the summer of 86' when it was up for sale for $105K. In the 90's the house next door to the north was falling apart so it was sold for $1 and the plot was turned into a free public parking lot for the Methodist Church members and the surrounding community to benefit old Elk Grove event crowds.
I was 7 years old when we moved in and it didn't take me long to fall in love with the place. The best part about it for me was the cool layout. Every bedroom closet had a secret door in the back that led into the extra space in the walls and other nooks and crannies that were fun to explore. Made hide and seek as a kid super fun! In high school the barn was the perfect flower fluffing float construction facility within shouting distance from Elk Grove High. Old Town Elk Grove has remained much the same as I remember it and many, who have been here awhile, remember this house and it's unique porch and swing as they have driven by over the years. Gage and Grove streets to the south is still a popular shortcut back to Elk Grove Florin for many locals.
It is a treasure not only to me and my family but to so many others... So because of this I find it fitting to pass on the history of the "Ol' Gage House" in a geocache. And not just any geocache but a treasure of a cache that measures up to the house!
The pint sized geocachers of the Frutcheyclan promise to keep this cache well stocked with goodies and toys. And if they don't do it, guess where I'm putting their toys they don't pick up....IN THE CACHE :-)