Although there were a few different commanders at Fort Belle Fontaine, the name most well known in this area is General Daniel Bissell. His family lived here for five generations and donated the property to St. Louis County in 1961. Their family home is now a St. Louis County Park and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. The park grounds are open 8 a.m. to 1/2 past sunset. Tours of the Bissell House are by appointment only. Contact St. Louis County Parks for more information or to book a house tour at 314-615-5270.
Here are some of the highlights of his life from the Saint Louis County Parks website, http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ParkPages/BissellHouse
Daniel Bissell was born in Bolton, Connecticut in 1768. He enlisted in the Connecticut militia as a fifer at the tender age of 9 during the Revolutionary War. Daniel enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1788. In 1809, as a lieutenant colonel, Bissell was appointed military commander of the Upper Louisiana Territory and took command of Cantonment Belle Fontaine, later known as Fort Belle Fontaine. This military post had been established in 1805 in the bottom lands of the Missouri River about five miles west of the confluence with the Mississippi River. It was the first American military post west of the Mississippi River. Bissell found conditions at the fort to be unhealthy and the buildings in poor repair. He also considered the site to be in a poor strategic position. In 1810 Bissell received authorization to relocate the fort on higher ground and completed the rebuilding effort in 1811. The fort was later abandoned after the army constructed Jefferson Barracks in 1826. Today part of the site is Fort Belle Fontaine Park.
The War of 1812 found Bissell promoted to a full colonel and reassigned. After the war, he returned to the St. Louis area and began construction of the brick house that is now the General Bissell House located at 10225 Belletontaine Road, only 5 miles from Fort Belle Fontaine Park.
General Bissell left the military in 1821 to retire to his estate which he called Franklinville Farm. He built the estate to 2300 acres and lived here with his wife and four children until his death in 1833.
To solve this puzzle, carefully read the information about Daniel Bissell to gather the necessary information then calculate the new coordinates to find the container.
N 38° 49.ABC W 90° DE.FGH
ABC = The number of years Fort Belle Fontaine existed * the age Bissell was when he enlisted in the U.S. Army + the age he was when he retired + the number of children he had
DEFGH = The street address of historic home + acreage of the estate at its peak + year this cache was published - Bissell's birth year
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.
Park hours are 8 a.m. to one half hour past official sunset. The park shares property with a state facility, so there is a guard gate at the entrance of the property. Sign in as a park visitor.
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NOTICE: Please be respectful of the posted park hours. If you enter the park after hours you are trespassing. If you are stopped you can be ticketed or arrested and will put the future of geocaching in the parks in jeopardy. Special permission to hide caches in St. Louis County parks is NOT needed as long as the Groundspeak rules are followed. "Blanket Permission" has been worked out in advance with the park service. DO NOT CALL THE PARK as they cannot handle the calls. The Groundspeak cache reviewer does need to know exactly how and where the caches are hidden and what type of containers are used. The geocaching liaisons will notify the park service of new caches. Remember NO AMMO BOXES or PVC PIPE caches.
IF ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY OR DAMAGE IS NOTICED IN A ST. LOUIS COUNTY PARK, PLEASE CALL 314-615-8911 AND REPORT IT.
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