To solve this historic puzzle, you will need to do some simple
math, so bring pencil and paper and/or a calculator. Park in the
east fairgrounds lot at 44°02.692 123.06.196. #1,You will begin
your quest at the First Station,located at 44°02.620N 123.06.161W
where you will find a micro sized container with an important piece
of information that you will need later. #2, cross the street and
go to the McNail-Riley House (the coordinates listed for this
cache). Write down the house number. #3, get the address of the old
Lincoln School and make a note of the year it was built. #4, go
back to where you parked and find the Clerk's Building. Write down
the "address" of the Clerk's Building and make a note of the year
the building was donated to the Lane County Historical Museum.
Now the fun part. Add all of the addresses together. The sum of
the addresses will be the combination to open the lockbox at the
final coordinates. To figure the final coordinates, subtract the
year the Lincol School was built from the year this cache was
placed. Add the result to the seconds of the north coordinate of
the First Station. Remember that important piece of information you
retrieve from the First Station?Add that number to seconds of the
West coordinate of the First Station. You now have the final
destination,#5, and the combination! At #5 you will find the
lockbox containing a log book and two stubby pencils. To open the
lock box, enter the combination by pressing the buttons on the face
plate of the lock box, then remove the face plate. Do not attempt
to release the shackle that secures the lock box. You might want to
bring your own pen. You will need to re-enter the combination to
put the face plate back on the lock box when you are through.
Read on if you would like a little history:
The McNail-Riley House was originally built at 10th and Mill,
this lovely Italianate Victorian house survived two moves through
the Jefferson neighborhood before ending up so prominently on the
corner between Lincoln School and the Fairgrounds. As part of the
Lincoln School Compromise, the City along with professionals,
students, and neighborhood volunteers renovated this once-battered
old house so that its now the neighborhood center for the
Westside-Jefferson neighborhoods, and used by many community groups
as well. The house was built for Amanda McNail, a milliner who
owned the "Temple of Fashion" downtown, and the bright green and
red of the house reflect her original choice of colors. In honor of
the 10th anniversary of its move to this corner, volunteers
recently gave it a sharp new paint job.
Built originally as a junior high, Lincoln School served for
many years as the neighborhood's grade school. It was closed, and
slated for destruction, when it became part of the "Lincoln-School
Compromise" with the neighborhoods, the City of Eugene, and
eventually McNail-Riley. After extensive changes and renovation,
this attractive old school has become a pioneering example of a
successful downtown apartment complex.
Just south of the museum, behind a high security fence, sits the
most significant historic building in Lane County, and one of the
most important in the state. The Lane County Clerk's building, the
first public building in the county, is the oldest surviving
building in the county, and is one of the few public buildings in
the state to have survived from Oregon's Territorial era of the
1850s. It is a modest though attractive version of the classic
Greek revival style of architecture once common for public
buildings on the Frontier. Originally located downtown, it held
Lane County's first jury trial in October of 1853, with Matthew P.
Deady as district judge and Eugene Skinner as clerk. It soon proved
to be too small even for this little village and was replaced by
the courthouse in 1855. After being shunted around downtown, the
Lane County Historical Society was able to provide a permanent home
for this small but significant structure at the Fairgrounds.