Biography Series #1: Groesbeck “High” Way Traditional Cache
Biography Series #1: Groesbeck “High” Way
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Size: 
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This is a Key Hider with room for a log. B.Y.O.P/P (bring your own pen / pencil).
Please be careful in placing and retreiving this Cache, for its placement is in a very narrow place.
This is a first for us in two ways: it is our first cache and, we hope, the first in a series of caches that will give a biography of the person the site is named for. Stealth is required.
For east side Metro Detroit residents, the name “Groesbeck” brings to mind the highway M-97. It is used so frequently that most users never wonder: “Who was Groesbeck?” If you already know, we salute you!! You remember your local history. If you don’t know, we offer you the following:
Alex J. Groesbeck was born on March 7, 1872 on a farm at the corner of Twelve Mile and Mound Roads in Warren Township. His family moved to Mount Clemens in 1880, after the election of his father, Louis, to the office of Macomb County Sheriff: Louis ran a sawmill before that. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in law in 1893. He was the State Attorney General from 1917-1920. He served as Governor of Michigan from 1921-1926. While governor, he signed into law the state tax on gasoline. This revenue was used to fund the state road building program. He also taxed vehicles based on weight, not based on engine horsepower, as had been done previously. It was under Groesbeck that the first concrete paved road in the United States was built. As the creator of the Michigan road building program, Alex J. Groesbeck was honored by the naming of Michigan Highway 97 after him in his birthplace of Macomb County. He died on March 10, 1953, three days after his 81st birthday. He is buried in Detroit.
AJs Greatgrandfather was the first Groesbeck to arrive in Detroit, arriving about 1786. In 1787 he was married to Terese Beaufait by Fr Gabriel Richard at the Beaufait farm across from Belle Isle. They could not be married in the church since he was Dutch Reform and she Catholic. (a copy of their marriage agreement is in the Burton Historical Library in Detroit.) Terese Beaufait was 3rd generation Detroit, her grandfather, Jacob Marsac dit L'Omtrou arriving with Cadillac in 1701, thus the marriage tied him to a well established Detroit family. Beaufait street can be found near the shore across from Belle Isle where the family farm once was. (Thanks to Clatmandu for this information.)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Snpvat Fbhgu vg vf ng lbhe srrg.
Treasures
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