Sequim Irrigation Virtual Reward Virtual Cache

Sequim has the distinction of having the oldest, continuous festival in the state of Washington. That festival is based on the opening of the first irrigation ditch onto the Sequim Prairie. Annually there is a parade and festivities the first full week of May to recognize that event.

John W. Donnell was the first settler on the Sequim Prairie. He came from New Dungeness because it was too crowded for his liking. In 1853 he took up a donation claim of 320 acres along the Dungeness River. This property extended (approximately) from what is now recognized as Hendrickson Road to Grant Road. He gained legal claim of the land from the government in 1866. The second settler was John Bell. He had come from Fort Victoria. It is said that he rowed across the Strait and then travelled around a bit before settling in the area. In 1854 he filed for 160 acres around the current area of Sequim Avenue and Washington Street.

By 1895 the farmers in the area had decided that the mild, sunny climate created summers that were too dry for successful farming on a large scale. In that year a meeting was held at the home of James W. Grant. Personal notes for the Grant family history indicate that Mr. James W. Grant and his wife, Harriet, had moved to the Donnell farm in 1893. So, it is assumed that this meeting was held on Mr. Donnell's 320 acres. Those present at that meeting were: James and Harriet Grant, David R. Callen, Mr. H. Hucksford and Captain Thomas Jones. After that meeting they spent several weeks with a level and going through brush. They talked with their neighbors to set up a follow-up meeting for July 20, 1895.

A group of 20 plus men met for that first meeting of the Sequim Prairie Ditch Company, the first irrigation ditch company of the area. They planned and they organized surveyors and workers throughout the winter of 1895 - 1896 to do the preliminary work on the ditch construction. Work on the irrigation system was finished; the flume built; and connected to the long ditch during April 1896. A celebration was initiated and the community planned a picnic for May Day 1896.

A site near Callen's Corners was prepared. Competitive games were scheduled - including ball games and a horse race. Some families from nearby farms walked. People traveled by horse and wagon from Port Angeles. A boatload of people traveled from Port Townsend. A bicycle club chartered a tug from Port Williams.

By noon all of the neighboring settlements were represented. Food was provided for visitors by local families. As was the custom, each group brought enough for themselves and another family or two. One account says that at the appointed time the headgate was raised and the water refused to turn. Undaunted, they dumped clay at the head of the flume and told the kids to tromp the clay into the gravel. Slowly the water finally flowed over the clay and into the flume. The muddy Dungeness River water slowly found its way into the dusty ditch, the furrow, and then the picnic area. Local dignitaries made speeches and the President of the newly formed Sequim Prairie Ditch Company announced the children's program. There was a poem and a song. The seemingly impossible dream of irrigating the desert of Sequim Prairie had begun.

I'm encouraging you to visit two places in the Sequim Valley to associate with this bit of history.

Note daylight hours only!

To qualify to log this virtual you must post a picture of yourself, GPS, smartphone, other locating device, or personal item that shows that you're a cacher and not a tourist near either of the objects at a waypoint (without the object itself being in the photo.) AND at each waypoint answer two questions pertaining to the location.

Waypoint 1 is at the posted coordinates. N 48° 05.022 W 123° 06.151

Question #1: What is the number cast into the bracket of the item?

Question #2: How is this object related to the TOPIC of the cache page? The nearby plaque will give you the hint for this answer.

Waypoint 2 is at N 48° 06.109 W 123° 06.441

Question #1: What is the animal that is engraved in the center of the east side of the monument?

Question #2: How is this monument related to the history of Sequim Irrigation?

Please leave the following text at the bottom of the page, so cache finders understand the Virtual Reward project.

Virtual Reward - 2017/2018

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.