This mystery cache is NOT hidden at the posted coordinates. They are for the first of three street-level historical markers you will need to locate and read to find the final coordinates for the cache. The entire journey is less than 1/3 of a mile.
NOTE: While stealth is not necessary for the process of obtaining the coordinates of the final cache, EXTREME stealth is necessary when retrieving it.
Milwaukee’s Third Ward has not always been the trendy, exciting place it is today. Soon after the flat, swampy area that is now the Third Ward was drained early in Milwaukee’s history, factories and warehouses were built and immigrants, mostly Irish, moved in. Frequent fist fights in the area earned it the nickname, the “Bloody Third.”
The Third Ward has come a long way since then, but not without tragedy in the 1800s that especially impacted the primarily Irish population of the area. Solving the puzzle of the final coordinates will require learning something about the two primary tragedies to strike this area of early Milwaukee. Because there sometimes is conflicting information available from other sources, limit your solution to the information on the identified Markers.
North Coordinates: Sinking of the Lady Elgin
At the posted coordinates, you will find an historical marker for the Sinking of the Lady Elgin. Based on the information on that marker, answer the following to find the North coordinates for the final cache location:
North AB CD.EFG
A= Number of letters in the third word of the second paragraph.
B=First digit in the number of lives lost in the tragedy.
C=Last digit in the year the Lady Elgin sank.
D=Third word in the second line of the first paragraph.
E=Day of the month on which the Lady Elgin sank.
F=Last digit of the year in which the marker was erected.
G=Divide by 3 the total number of letters in the name (first & last) of the Union Guards commander, then multiply the result by 2.
West Coordinates: The Third Ward Fire of 1892
The second waypoint (N43° 01.898 W087° 54.430) takes you to the historical marker for the Third Ward Fire of 1892. Based on the information on that marker, answer the following to find most of the West coordinates for the final cache location:
West HI JK.LMN
H=Second digit of the day of the month the fire started.
I=Add together the digits of the number of city blocks destroyed by the fire.
J=The last digit of the number of railroad cars destroyed by the fire.
K=The first number in the eighth line of the first paragraph.
L=Penultimate digit of the number of buildings destroyed by the fire.
For M and N, the remaining two numbers for the final coordinates, go to the third waypoint (N43 01.930 W087 54.414), locate the number of the firehouse memorialized there, and add two to that number.
If you wish, you can check your calculations here before running to find the cache.
The cache is a small lock-n-lock type box, big enough to hold a few VERY small trade items or trackables. Bring your own pen or pencil.
The cache location has been approved by the Historic Third Ward Association.
Additional Information:
Follow this link for the Historic Third Ward Walking Tour
For additional information on the sinking of the Lady Elgin, check out the links below:
For additional information on the Third Ward Fire, check out the links below: