GCP6QE Sorriest Land in the County (Traditional Cache) in Texas, United States created by 2Techsans

This cache has been archived.

Vertighost: Since there has been no response by the cache owner within the time frame requested in the last reviewer note, I have archived this cache. Please note that caches that have been archived for maintenance issues or lack of cache owner communication are not eligible to be unarchived.

GCP6QE ▼

A cache by 2Techsans Message this owner

Hidden : 6/5/2005

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

small plastic coffee can

On April 1, 1897 James H Nail, Sr and WI Cook paid the Holstein Family of Shackelford County, Texas the sum of $49,000 cash in hand for 27 3/4 sections of land (17,760 acres). On Christmas Day of 1899, Mr Nail wanted to buy, Matilda “Dude” Nail Cook and W.I. Cook, out. After heated discussions, the Cook’s ended by buying out Mr Nail. Angry at his sister for not selling out to him, Mr Nail boasted to everyone, “I’ve just sold Dude the sorriest piece of land in Shackelford County and she’ll be broke in a year, you can bet on it!” As it turned out, the decision of Matilda Nail Cook not to sell out to her brother was either the wisest or the luckiest decision she ever made because in 1926 the Cook Oil Field was discovered on the southern part of the ranch. For a long period of time, the Cook Oil Field was the largest shallow oil field in the world. 79 Years later, the Cook Oil Field is still producing oil and new wells are still being successfully drilled. The discovery well was, in fact, the last roll of the dice that a group of men would make before going completely broke. As they were hauling their rig to the selected sight, it broke down. The rig could go no further unless additional money was raised for repairs. At this point, they made a field decision to drill on the spot where the rig broke down and hit a gusher! The roots of the Cook Children's Hospital go back to January 29, 1929, when the W. I. Cook Memorial Hospital opened at 1212 West Lancaster Street in Fort Worth. The original hospital, designed in Italian Renaissance architecture, had 55 beds. Mrs. Missouri Matilda Nail Cook dedicated the oil royalties from the Cook Ranch near Albany, Texas, to build and sustain the hospital's mission. When the polio epidemic was spreading in the United States in 1952, the board of trustees of the W. I. Cook Memorial Hospital studied the special needs of children, voted to expand the facility to 72 beds with a special grant from the Tom B. Owens Trust, and changed its mission to care exclusively for the needs of children. Thus, the trustees renamed the facility the Cook Children's Hospital. Jim, of the 2Techsans, was the 100th victim of polio in Fort Worth in 1955.

This cache was hidden by members of GAGA:

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

va pnpghf arne Pbbx Enapu fvta

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

This cache has been archived.

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Sorriest Land in the County Traditional Geocache

This cache has been archived.

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