Is it Basinger, or Bassinger? Traditional Cache
Is it Basinger, or Bassinger?
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A cache in the Micco Landing Hiking Area
On the Okeechobee County side it is Basinger, but on the Highlands County side it is Bassinger. How ever you spell it Basinger was quite a place.
In the 1830s a fort was built here and named Ft. Bassinger after Lt. John Bassinger who was killed in the Dade Massacre while serving under Col. Zachary Taylor. Taylor and a detachment of troops left here in 1837 to fight the Seminoles at the Battle of Okeechobee. The fort itself was on the banks of the Kissimmee River and is now part of the Edna Pearce Lockett estate.
As soon as the Civil War was over people started arriving here. Basinger can boast of the first white settlers recorded in what is now Okeechobee County. Some of the earliest settlers were the Parkers, Holmes,Chandlers and the Raulersons. Peter Raulerson moved to the banks of Taylor's Creek and was the first settler in what is now Okeechobee.
At one time the was a ferry service across the river and was used by the citizens and those cowboys taking the Cracker Trail when they drove their cattle to Punta Gorda. The cattle were loaded on ships there and sent to Spanish Cuba. My Great Grandfather, Fitz Hugh Williams was one of these cattlemen, and my Great Grandmother had a sack of Spanish gold coins he received for his cows.
By the 1890s Basinger was a bustling town with two hotels, a general store, clothing stores, a post office, and ... saloons! It was a favorite overnight stop for the cowboys on the Cracker Trail. It was also the southern terminus of a steamship line down the Kissimmee.
Things looked good for Bassinger until Mr. Flagler ran his railroad to Tantie (Okeechobee) in 1915. Between this and the building of roads the steamboat line closed in 1920, and the people began to leave. By the 1940s Basinger was what it is today. There is one store, one payphone, a church and a cemetary (n27 23.063 x w081 00.808) visit it to see the graves of the early settlers.
Cross the river and tour the Lockett estate (n27 21.712 x w081 03.090) and the old Ft. Bassinger School (n 27 21.849 x w081 03.476)where Mrs. Lockett taught. Both are open to the public and FREE.
The cache is in an ammo box and is on the Micco Landing Hiking Trail,(there are no actual trails, open land) between Basinger and Ft. Bassinger. It is about 16 miles northwest of Okeechobee on Highway 98, and is an easy half mile walk from the parking area. You will have to go through at least one gate or fence.There is a cattle lease on some of this land so leave any gates as you found them. There is road construction going on at this time so access to the area is a bit tricky, but completely possible.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
V ubcr lbh qba'g yrg guvf bar fghzc lbh!
Treasures
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