I originally placed this cache on Nov.
27, 2001 and archived it on Sept. 16, 2003 when construction
started in this area. Now that construction has progressed, roads
and some homes are in, and the old train station has been restored
(which could have been yours for only $1,200,000), it's time to
show off the area again.
Agape Construction, which is performing all the work in this area,
and Kirkwood Parks and Recreation which owns the Tunnel and old
Meramec Highlands property above it, has allowed us to park and
walk back to see the area again.
The cache is NOT on private
property
***** June 8,2008 *****
Today I talked with the owner of the house on the
left side of the trail and explained why he would see people
occasionally try to go back to the tunnel. I gave him a geocaching
brochure and he was fine with that and had no problems with anyone
going back to see the tunnel or looking for the cache. The "Private
Property" signs are gone.
So.....the bottom line is we are free to go back to the tunnel
and long as we stay on the wood chip trail between the small rocks
that line the trail. Once the tunnel is in view, rock walls
line the trail.
The sign in the picture below has not yet been replaced, but the
picture next to it shows the trail entrance from the street.
Drive past the old RR station off
Barberry Lane (near Big Bend and HW 270) and park at the end of the
road at the Cul-de-sac. Follow the trail to the old train tunnel.
At the top of the tunnel you can find remains of the old hotel
and fountain.
Getting to the top can be very slippery and
dangerous and there are no obvious trails. You are on you own if
you go up there as the cache is down by the tunnel
entrance.
This was part of the old 438 acre Meramec Highlands Resort area,
which was popular from 1895 to the mid 1920's. The large hotel sat
above the tunnel. The homes along Ponca Trail were once cottages
for the Meramec Highlands, offering a total of 125 rooms. After the
area shut down, the tunnel was used for growing mushrooms. 23 year
old "Pretty Boy Floyd" was arrested in 1925 for robbing the Meramec
Highlands Store and served time in Jefferson City penitentiary.
From downtown, Frisco RR ran nine trains daily on weekdays and
four on Sundays. Commutation tickets were for 100 rides, good for
90 days and costs $14.75. One round trip ticket was $.50.
Below are pictures of the old railroad station before they
started restoration and a picture of the area during the 1900's.
Just east of the RR station at Big Bend and 270 (off Marshall
Rd.)is Meramec Highlands quarry (now called Dee Kestering Park)
that was used to build the RR station, along with some of the homes
in the area. Some of the stone for Union Station downtown and the
structures for the 1904 Worlds Fair in Forest Park came from this
quarry also. Three caches are also located in the nearby quarry for
those that haven't located them yet. These 3 caches are NOT
handicap accessible and will require some climbing up hills and
over large rocks.
Getting a good signal here is impossible. Best I
could get was 60-80', so here are some helpful details:
1. Cache is NOT IN the tunnel.
2. Rocks and wall of tunnel are fragile so no need to climb.
3. Nothing needs to be moved or lifted.
4. It is a 35MM film canister that anyone can reach.
5. See hint.
For more information and pictures of the area, check out the book
"GLIMPSES OF MERAMEC HIGHLANDS", written by James F. Baker. He
lives at 1015 Barberry Lane, which was once the Meramec Highlands
store. The book is available at the St. Louis County Library,
Valley Park, and Kirkwood library, and probably some other ones
too.