I am a new student at the local university, and being both a history buff and geocacher I thought it would be fun to create a cache on Berrien Springs history! The above listed coordinates bring you to a past Berrien County courthouse (no physical cache here) that has now been turned into a free museum. To obtain the coordinates to the actual cache, you will need to read some of the historical markers on the grounds around the courthouse, and peruse a few of the dioramas inside the courthouse. The final question can be answered from a marker in Wolf’s Prairie Park (see additional waypoint for coords), and the physical cache is nearby.
Coords to the final are as follows:
N 41° AB.CDE W 086° FG.HIJ
To obtain coordinates to the final, you will need to answer the following multiple-choice questions. Here is how it works: each question correlates to one of the unknown numbers in the coordinates. For example, the numerical answer to the following question “A” should be substituted for “A” in the coordinate set. If you happen to find from a historical marker that the county courthouse was an “important” symbol in the American legal system, your answer for A will be 6, then. So on and so forth for the others.
Hours of the museum (courthouse) are as follows:
March 6 - April 30 - Mon -Sat [10 a.m. - 5 p.m.]
May 1 - September 30 - Tues - Sat [10 a.m. - 6 p.m.] - Sun [12 - 4 p.m.]
October 1 - December 23 - Tues - Sat [10 a.m. - 5 p.m.]
Questions
A. The county courthouse is what sort of symbol of the American legal system?
5 - iconic
6 -important
7 -significant
B. For how many years was this courthouse in active service, before the county seat was moved elsewhere?
5 - 45 years
6 - 55 years
7 - 65 years
C. How many flags have flown over the land that is now southwest Michigan?
4 - Four
5 - Three
6 - One
D. What was the first fort in lower Michigan?
8 - Fort Michilimackinac
7 - Fort Miami
6 - Fort St. Joseph
E. On the diorama of the Civil War, how many battlefields are labeled on the map?
4 - Five
3 - Seven
2 - Nine
F. On the steamboat and water travel diorama, what is the name of the steamboat model?
1 - Greater Buffalo
2 - May Graham
3 - Graham Cracker
G. In the railroad diorama, what is the railroad line name of the steam engine model?
1 - Pere Marquette
2 - Wabash Cannonball
0 - Michigan Central
H. The log cabin originally stood on…
0 - Kephart Lane
5 - Cass Street
7 - US 31
I. In 1883, a jail escape attempt was made through removing…
1 - bars to a window
3 - a door
2 - a bathtub
J. Which religious group established a mission here in the early 1700s?
3 - Seventh-Day Adventist
4 - Jesuit
5 - Catholic
The final is a magnetic keyholder in Wolf’s Prairie Park. Please let me know if you have any questions! I hope you have “a blast with the past” learning some local history!