Camp Butner History Tour Multi-Cache
nctreker: This one had a nice run but time to open up the area for other hides.
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This tour of Camp Butner is ideal as a bike ride through quiet streets, but it is an easy drive as well. Total travel distance is approximately 5 miles. For safety reasons all GPS coordinates are given for parking areas where the clues can be obtained. When parking for the final coordinates, leave a geocaching placard on your dash. This will alert Public Safety to the activity if they spot your empty car.
In 1942 the United States Government purchased over 40,000 acres of land in Granville, Durham, and Person counties to be used as a training facility and hospital for troops serving during World War II. It was named Camp Butner in honor of the late Major General Henry Wolfe Butner. Construction began on March 15th 1942 and the camp was officially activated 3 months later on June 15th 1942. After the war, Camp Butner was closed and abandoned by the Army with only a small staff left to protect the property. In 1947 the state of North Carolina acquired the Camp Butner property from the federal government for $1. Although many of the camp buildings have long since been removed, the history of Camp Butner is still visible if you know where to look. This multi-stage cache will take you to several spots of historical interest around the town. To see more of the history of camp Butner, both the Public Safety office on F Street and the Town of Butner Operations Center on E street have original camp photos and display cases. Each is open during normal business hours Monday through Friday.
As you move through town you may notice many of the one-story wooden residences appear architecturally the same. The original troops barracks were two story wooden structures. When the army left, the top floor of a barrack would be removed and two identical houses would result. While not a part of this cache there is one original two-story barrack left standing at the corner of C and 22nd street. (Note: it is a residence, and now has aluminum siding).
Stage 1. N 36 08.228 W 078 45.660
The plaque in Gazebo Park commemorates the 50th anniversary of Camp Butner. Take a look back in time. As you read the plaque, directly in front of you behind the large trees stood the Post Headquarters; to your left were barracks for camp visitors and guests. If you do an about face, across the street is a broken concrete sidewalk that seems to end in the middle of a grass field. This walkway led to the Camp flagpole where at that time the largest American flag in the US flew. Behind the flagpole were division headquarters for the 78th Lightning Division.
Clue 1: From the plaque, what was the number of the Ivy Division? _____
Stage 2. N 36 08.566 W 078 45.990
The Butner Water tower dominates the landscape of the north part of town. Building the camp brought in thousands of workers, in addition to soldiers. The few wells in the area could not meet camp needs so a water storage tank was one of the first construction projects at Camp Butner.
Clue 2: On the front of the tank is the date it was completed. What are the last 2 digits? _____
Stage 3. N 36 08.129 W 078 46.818
John Umstead Hospital was originally built by the Army to treat casualties returning from the European theater of war. After the property was purchased by North Carolina, the hospital was renamed in honor of the brother of Governor William B. Umstead. The hospital has been used since that time to treat the mentally ill. From the point of this clue opposite the hospital you see a small rising hill. This is the original land elevation and was known as Veasey ridge. Before the building of Camp Butner tobacco was raised on much of this land.
Clue 3: What is number of this building? (It houses the CPI) _________
Stage 4. N 36 07.720 W 078 46.222
The camp provided chapels for various religious denominations. This building hosted the camp’s Catholic religious services. Immediately to the right of the chapel behind a private residence you’ll see a single large gray concrete wall. This is all that remains of the base movie theater.
Clue 4: What hour is mass held at this Catholic Church? _______
Stage 5 N 36 08.639 W 078 45.085
The Butner Sports Arena now hosts community basketball leagues, Boy Scout meetings, and other activities. When constructed for Camp Butner its role was similar. Dances and USO events were held here. The sports arena also hosted a match featuring world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, who served in the US Army from 1942 to 1946.
Clue 5: What street number is the Sports Arena located on? ________
The cache is located a short distance from Stage 5.
Add Clue 2, and Clue 4. Add the result to 600 and place the answer in the latitude blank
N 36 08. _ _ _
Add Clue 1, Clue 3, and Clue 5. Add the result to 900 and place the answer in the longitude blank.
W 78 44. _ _ _
Since the first annual CITO day is occurring soon after this cache is hidden. The initial contents include (3) T-shirts with the CITO logo, (one shirt per finder group please). IT also contains a number of CITO buttons, CITO trash bags, and various items.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jngpu sbe snyyra gerrf.
Treasures
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