Welcome to the Sunshine State Geoart series. Each of the caches highlight a specific location in Florida. None of the caches are located at the coordinates listed on the cache pages. You will need to solve the puzzle below in order to obtain the correct coordinates.
All caches are soda bottle preforms containing only a log. You will need your own writing utensil or stamp (no stickers please). All caches are within 30’ of grassy or graded shell rock trails suitable for biking and hiking (unless noted otherwise). Please bring plenty of water and snacks.
Once a Timucuan Indian village, the land upon which Gainesville is situated became part of a Spanish land grant given to Don Fernando de la Maza Arredondo, a Spanish merchant, in December, 1817.
In 1824, after Florida was annexed to the United States, Alachua County was created with Newnansville near present-day Alachua as the county seat. The population expanded with an influx of planters and farmers as Florida achieved statehood in 1845. When the proposed Florida Railroad linking Fernandina and Cedar Key bypassed Newnansville, Alachua County residents voted to create a new town on the railroad line and make it the county seat. Gainesville, named in honor of Seminole Indian War General Edmund P. Gaines, was founded on September 6, 1853.
The city's growth and prosperity continued when the University of Florida began operations on land west of the city. By 1920 the city's population soared to over 10,000. The university's emergence as an important economic factor in the community helped the city to survive the collapse of the local cotton and phosphate industries during World War I.
What date did classes first begin for UF? (A/BC/DEFG) month day year
N26° 53.(A-D)(C-B)5 W80° 1F.EB0
You can validate your puzzle solution with (coordinates) certitude.