UPDATE: You must physically
visit this location to be able to log this as a find. Virtual
visits are not allowed.
The Gasconade County Courthouse, standing on a bluff above
Hermann, MO and the Missouri River, is believed to be the only
courthouse in the United States whose construction was privately
funded. Charles D. Eitzen, one of the original settlers of Hermann
and a successful businessman, left the county $50,000 in his will
for the construction of a new courthouse.
The architects were J. B. Legg of St. Louis and A. W. Elsner of
Jefferson City, and the contractor was H. J. Wallau [1]. Construction was completed
in 1898. More than 400,000 bricks were required [2], and they were treated in a rather...
appropriate fashion, as reported by The
Advertiser-Courier:
September 27, 1897—The bricklayers at the new
courthouse are now engaged in brushing the stock brick on the
exterior of the building with beer, so as to give it a fine gloss
and uniform color. Good vinegar would produce the same results but
as long as beer is cheaper, the latter is used. The workmen are not
permitted to indulge in the beer. [2]
The coordinates above are for a cannon which was used in the
defense of the town against a Confederate raid. As reported in
The Advertiser-Courier on 9 October 1907:
On the afternoon of October 4th, 1864, the advance of
Gen. Marmaduke's army in their march westward made its appearance
on the hills on the east side of town. The town which maintained a
militia company composed of infantry and also a section of
artillery had received before the war from Gov. Stewart a cannon,
and this on the arrival of Gen. Marmaduke's army a handful of
desperate citizens picked up and from the railroad track at the
high school fired at the intruders who were coming around what is
now called Frank's Bluff. Our gunners in a jiffy pulled their
cannon on the hill where the Catholic church stands and fired at
the Confederates on the opposite hill, from here they went into the
wineyards of the new Stone Hill Wine Co., and kept up the shooting
till their ammunition gave out. The Confederates figured that all
of the western hills in town were fortified with artillery and
checked their advance for an hour or more. The gun had in the
meantime been spiked and thrown in the river.... The cannon was
later fished out of the river by some soldiers and taken to
Jefferson City, but again restored to the town by Gov.
Gamble.[2]
For the celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of
Hermann's founding, the cannon was to be fired 50 times. However,
on the 48th firing, the barrel burst irreparably.
To claim this cache, take a close look at the cannon. One of the
trunnions on the barrel (round projections which support it in its
cradle) carries the name of a large American city. (Elsewhere on
the barrel is "Hermann"; that's not what you're looking for. :-)
Email me the name of that city. Do not post your answer here, even
if encrypted.
[1] http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/uedivis/ue6036.htm
[2] "Official Program" for the Hermann
Sesquicentennial, 1986. Author and publisher unknown.