On October 17, 1885, Spartanburg's first “public” library opened.
Thanks to a gift from Mrs. Helen Fayssoux Kennedy, the Kennedy Library opened its doors on the lot where her husband's office once stood. It began with a grand total of 900 books and a $3 per year subscription fee. Her gift honored her husband, Dr. Lionel Chalmers Kennedy, a well-known and respected physician who had died five years earlier. Among the library's first holdings was Dr. Kennedy's 600-volume medical library and some 300 other books collected and donated by the citizens of Spartanburg.
The library began an explosive period of growth between 1969 and 1979. An automated circulation system became operational in 1979, making Spartanburg the first public library in a four-state area to do so. A year later, the library system loaned half a million books for the first time.
At the time the first location was built, the West side of Spartanburg was one of the fastest growing areas in the county. Over 30,000 people lived within a 4 mile radius of the library once it was built. The first location opened in March 1986 at Winchester Place in Spartanburg, with the current location at 525 Oak Grove Road in Spartanburg opening on October 14, 2002.
The Westside branch was rededicated in April 2013 to honor the Cyrill family of Spartanburg, thus the new name, Cyrill-Westside Library.
In the mid-1700s, the Upstate of South Carolina was the frontier. Indian tribes called the region home and non-Indians were scarce. Fleeing the increasingly populated Piedmont and coastal sections, some hardy white adventurers began to look toward the Appalachian Mountains for virgin land and to distance themselves from British oversight. The western side of what became Spartanburg is one place that drew these mainly Scots-Irish immigrants.
Growth of a settlement from a frontier outpost to a fledgling community typically required several necessities: a nearby source of water, rich land and a decent road. The Tyger River and Fairforest and Lawson’s Fork creeks feed into western Spartanburg, enriching the soil and the residents.
One road into the area had been tramped down by Indians and traders long before the arrival of white settlers: the Blackstock Road. Running from the foothills near the present town of Tryon, N.C., crossing the Tyger River at Blackstock Ford and running through the present communities of Roebuck and Fairforest, Blackstock Road provided the perfect path for whites trickling into the region. Today, the western part of Spartanburg thrives with a large business district, built partially on the site of the former World War I Camp Wadsworth, and contains a major portion of the town’s residential population.
The geocache that you are seeking is a straight forward regular cache. Finding the container is fairly easy, but to gain access, you will need to do a little Fairy-Tale research!
This cache highlights Fairy Tales, and as such, you may need the help of a younger geocacher!
Once you have located the "container" you will find it secured with a combination lock.
The first number of the combination is the number of dwarves whose names begin with the letter, *D* in the 1938 Disney film featuring Snow White.
The second number of the combination is the total number of legs of Little Miss Muffet's adversary.
The third number of the combination is the time that the clock struck when a mouse ran up it.
GOOD LUCK!
Please keep in mind that while you are searching for this container, the muggle-factor is ever-present!
Cyrill-Westside Library Hours:
Mon thru Thurs - 9am to 9pm
Fri - 9am to 6pm
Sat - 10am to 6pm
Sun - 1:30pm to 6pm
Download your "Hitting the Books" Passport Grid here to begin:
