On October 17, 1885, Spartanburg's first “public” library opened.
Thanks to a gift from Mrs. Helen Fayssoux Kennedy, the Kennedy Library opened its doors on the lot where her husband's office once stood. It began with a grand total of 900 books and a $3 per year subscription fee. Her gift honored her husband, Dr. Lionel Chalmers Kennedy, a well-known and respected physician who had died five years earlier. Among the library's first holdings was Dr. Kennedy's 600-volume medical library and some 300 other books collected and donated by the citizens of Spartanburg.
New branches were added in many surrounding communities, one of which was the city of Inman, South Carolina.
Like many of the other locations, Inman's branch began in a rented facility. The permanent building for the Inman Branch was built in 1990, due to the increased growing need and community support.
Inman is an area rich in industrial and agricultural history. Peach farms and textile plants were the key to the population growth in this area. A historic downtown area offers unique shopping, dining, and entertainment. Several festivals also welcome tourists and the nearby Palmetto Trail and Lake Bowen offer great outdoor recreation.
The geocache that you are seeking is a straight forward regular cache. Finding the container is fairly easy, but to gain access, you will need to do a little geo-related research!
This cache highlights The Boxcar Children, originally created and written by American writer and first-grade school teacher, Gertrude Chandler Warner.
Originally published in 1924 by Rand McNally (as The Box-Car Children) and reissued in a shorter revised form in 1942 by Albert Whitman Company, The Boxcar Children tells the story of four orphaned children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. They create a home for themselves in an abandoned boxcar in the forest. They eventually meet their grandfather, who is a wealthy and kind man (although the children had believed him to be cruel). The children decide to live with the grandfather, who moves the beloved boxcar to his backyard so the children can use it as a playhouse.
In the subsequent books, the children encounter many adventures and mysteries in their neighborhood or at the locations they visit with their grandfather. The majority of the books are set in locations the children are visiting over school holidays such as summer vacation or Christmas break. Only the first 19 stories were written by creator Warner. Other books in the series have been written by other writers, but always feature the byline "Created by Gertrude Chandler Warner". The recent books in the series are set in the present day, whereas most of the original books were set in the 1920s and 1930s.
Finding this cache container should be easy for most. However, you'll need to do a little homework in order to actually find it. You will need to research a particular book in the series in which the children have an adventure solving a mystery after having found a geocache in a local park. This book is NOT inside the library, but if the library is open, you might find that their wifi can be helpful! Once you have identified the book, the series number is your key to locating it.
Once you know the series number, use it below to create a new waypoint, where you will find your own treasure!
N 35° 2.(702 + the Series Number)'
W 82° 5.(484 + the Series Number)'
GOOD LUCK!!!
Please keep in mind that while you are searching for this container, WATCH OUT! The muggle-factor is ever-present!
Inman Library Hours:
Mon, Tues, Thurs - 10am to 8pm
Wed, Fri - 10am to 6pm
Sat - 10am to 4pm
Download your "Hitting the Books" Passport Grid here to begin:
