There is an old, forgotten, overgrown cement walkway that leads from the Church of St. Augustine on Mt. Pleasant Ave. to the former Rhode Island State Home for Children’s yellow cottage, located on the grounds of Rhode Island College. The home was eventually renamed the Dr. Patrick I. O'Rourke Center. The institution closed in 1979. The State Home and School Project at Rhode Island College was initiated in the spring of 2001 when Trinity Square Repertory Theatre contacted the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) for historic background material that would be helpful as the Theatre Company began pre-production of John Irving’s Cider House Rules, a novel set against the backdrop of an early orphanage. You can read more about the project here: http://www.ric.edu/statehomeandschool/historyProject.html
I have been taking a class at RIC at the Sherlock Center and noticed the neglected walkway on my drive in via Mt. Pleasant Ave. I arrived early one day so that I could check it out. Although it is a bit overwhelmed with vegetation at different spots, it is an easy path to follow. Be vigilant with the poison ivy on the edges. The cache is located about 1/2 way through but take a little extra time to walk it to the end. There are old telephone poles, what appears to be some kind of cement supports on a large outcrop of rock, old fences and a delightfully creepy feel as you meander along. In 1957 the remains of 13 children who had died at the Home and were buried on the property were relocated to the Grace Church burial grounds in order for the development of the Mount Pleasant Street entrance to Rhode Island College. Six of those children to this day remain unaccounted for…
The cache is a recycled prescription bottle with a small log and a wishing stone for the FTF. BYOP. Not incredibly hard to find but you will have to come off the walkway to find it.
Happy caching!