This is our FIRST in our series of “Unique Caches” that we will be placing in 2015. We pride ourselves on the uniqueness of our caches, hence the cache name. Previously when living in New Jersey, many of our caches were hidden in plain sight and others were camouflaged perfectly making the find a little more difficult. PLEASE do not lift the cache…..only the “lid” and you will know what this means once you locate it. There is a FTF prize inside, but no room for swag. Please just sign the log and leave NOTHING. Bring a pencil as there is no room to store one. Lastly, no spoiler pics or tips please. We have painstakingly designed this cache to make it unique and a challenge to see it so let’s let the next geocacher enjoy the same challenge as well.
Unique Cache #1 is located within the boundaries of Lake Okahumpka Park. Lake Okahumpka Park is on Rt 44 in Wildwood, Florida. It is 130 acres and is adjacent to Lake Okahumpka which covers 670 acres. There are several paved walking trails, several off road bike trails, a playground, a boat launch area and easy parking.
***READ NO FURTHER unless you want the history lesson: The Park had its grand opening in March of 2004. The name ''Okahumpka'' is the English for the Indian word Okeehumpkee, meaning Deep Waters because of a spring of unknown depths that lies near the town of Old Okahumpka, just south of Leesburg, Florida. While there is no deep spring in this park, there is a lake that is fished by some of the locals.
Old Okahumpka Florida was historically important in the development of Florida. By the end of the Nineteenth Century, the town appeared to have everything going for it. It was a town that was a major transportation center and generated large quantities of agricultural products such as citrus, ferns, watermelons, naval stores, hardwood lumber and kaolin from nearby pits. Okahumpka was a stopping off point for tourists from the north and was blessed by a large hotel, which catered to visitors from the north seeking a healthy and warm environment. At one time Okahumpka was as wild as any town in the “Wild West” with cow hunters, cattle drives and rustlers, etc. The town was larger, during the mid-nineteenth century, than the communities of Tampa, Leesburg and other present day communities in the area. Yet, by the last half of the Twentieth Century, it had become overrun by nearby Leesburg. Almost all the major buildings would be gone including the depot, stores, post office, schools, taverns, bowling alley and churches. Today, most people know Okahumpka as the name of a rest stop along the nearby Florida Turnpike or the name of an old depot located at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.
More about Okahumpka….. There is a magnificent spring on the northern edge of the Lake County community of Okahumpka . It holds a unique place in Florida history. Bugg Spring is privately owned and is not open to the public because it is leased by the U.S. Navy which conducts research on sound
there. The spring, however, is quite remarkable and the grounds surrounding it hold great historical significance. According to the St. Johns River Water Management District, Bugg Spring is a second magnitude spring that is 170-175 feet deep. Clear and cold, the water has been a focal point of life in the area for many years. The early archaeologist Clarence B. Moore investigated (and destroyed) Native American mounds at Bugg Spring, producing evidence that human beings have used the spring for
thousands of years. Although the exact site is debated, the spring is one of the sites in the vicinity believed to be a possible location of the Seminole Indian town of Okahumpka. This important town was the scene of much planning during the days leading up to the Second Seminole War and warriors from
here took part in Dade's Battle in nearby Bushnell, Florida.
Enjoy the park when you visit and think about the old Indian town of Okahumpka, Florida after which it’s named. Again, REMEMBER TO BRING A PENCIL……. and NO SPOILERS PLEASE.