The last of the 150 challenge coins for the 2025 Challenge was given out on Friday, April 11th. Thank you all for participating!
This Geocache is part of an annual Geocache Challenge put on by the Heritage Program at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area as part of our outreach to the public, to get people to explore their forest and their history, and to share the unique heritage of the families from Between the Rivers.
This Geocache is part of the “2025 Land Between the Lakes Heritage Geocache Challenge: General Stores Between the Rivers”. There are 7 geocaches placed across Land Between the Lakes related to the history of the Community General Stores between the rivers. If you locate each geocache, and collect a numbered aluminum tree tag from each cache, you can turn them in at the Golden Pond Visitor Center for one of 150 Challenge Coins created for this event.
The Geocache is a 6” x 6” orange watertight plastic box marked “Heritage Geocache” on the top. The geocache is placed in a tree stump.
This Geocache requires a hike of about 0.5 miles (each way) with some steep slopes.
Hucksters
Due to the rough and hilly terrain and the expense of automobiles in the early 1900s, hucksters were an integral part of small rural communities like those in Between the Rivers. Many grocery store owners began or operated as hucksters and some doubled as mailmen. They brought news, goods, and pre-ordered supplies to those who could not make it to town. For some individuals, these delivery men were the only connection they had to the rest of the community.
Hucksters were embedded within the working-class neighborhoods they served. They provided a vital service by offering credit, small purchase options to those in need and provided trading opportunities which promoted the rural economy and cultivated a sense of solidarity and mutual support. These individuals and their stories reveal how they navigated poverty and enriched the social fabric of their communities.