This is a place I drive by often and a number of times and I have wondered "Why is there a historical marker at a golf course?" I have also thought I should put a cache there or make it part of a puzzle as there have not been any physical caches placed on or near the marker by Jacob Barlow, at least not since I have started Geocaching (though it is on his website about historical places).
Getting awarded a Virtual Cache gave me the impetus to come to the spot and have a look. I found it to be a fascinating spot that aligns with some other areas that have taken up my interest recently.
As you will see on the plaque at the posted coordinates, in the 1860s the area was cleared by oxen, and one of the first amusement parks was created by George and Mary B. Calder in 1864. Fittingly, it was named Calder's Park. It had a lake, dance hall, bandstand, racetrack and other attractions.
The plaque goes over when the name was changed to Wandamere and that it was finally owned by Charles W. Nibley who donated it to Salt Lake City in 1921. Apparently, the donation was on the condition that the area always remain a park-type space. So the city made it into what it is today, that being Nibley Golf Course. It is the oldest public golf course in Utah and turns 100 years old on the month of this virtual cache publishing since it opened in May of 1922.
Looking at it with Google Earth, I presumed the lake on the course is the same as it was at the amusement park, however looking at photos of Calder's Park and Wandamere (like the ones below), it is likely the same lake but just a bit smaller.
This picture appears to be facing northeast as that is Jack's Mountain in the background; though, it would likely be at least 100 years before it would be called Jack's Mountain; therefore it would be Unnamed Mountain in the background.
The mountains in the background look drawn in so you cannot really tell which direction this is facing. I suspect it is facing east.
I was able to find a couple of newspaper articles about some of the happenings at Calder's Park. Here is one from June, 5th 1898:
Here is an article from October 7th, 1898:
If you would like more information and to see more pictures, here are a couple of links to articles about Calder's Park/Wandamere:
Salt Lake Tribune Article
Utah History Encyclopedia
This is also a waymarking site, which has quite a bit of information on the area.
In order to log a find on this, note the plaque number. Then walk about 250 feet north to the sign at the virtual stage and count all of the characters (letters, any digits, and any punctuation) on the west side of the sign. Multiply the total number of characters on the sign by the plaque number and send the answer to me.
Logs posted without the answers sent, as well as logs that in any way give away the answer will be deleted.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.