Camp Douglas is a beautiful village with high bluffs and a rich history. This is the first of a planned series of caches to share some of that history with fellow geocachers and to spark some interest in my grandson who lives in the area. He has just started his geocaching journey and helped me find the perfect spot for this first cache.
The Village of Camp Douglas began as a wooding camp for the railroad when, in 1864, a Mr. Chamberlin, James Douglas and his daughter, were dropped of by the Milwaukee RailRoad work train. In those days, railroads used wood instead of coal to fuel the engines and camps of this type were set up along the line to provide that fuel. One mile west of this camp was another that was run by a Mr Temple. To distinguish between the 2 camps, signs were placed along the railway: Camp Temple and Camp Douglas. This is the actual origin of the name although people often mistakenly think that the village was named because of the military presence. (credit to Dr. C.O. Cron, Village President, 1929)
The village slowly grew over the years and was incorporated in 1893 with only around 330 people. It has gone through many changes and challenges since those years but has maintained it's small town charm and doubled its population to around 600! (excerpt from Camp Douglas History webpage)
The park that this cache is located in is called Nelson Park. The land that the park is on was donated by Emil Nelson, a long time resident of Camp Douglas. It has 2 spacious pavillions, a fun playground and well maintained ball diamond. Be sure to check out the wonderful artwork on the K-Rails at the back of the park dividing the Tractor Pull area from the rest of the park.
This Cache was placed with permission from the village.