Dropping you off at a very unique place in IA. Glad you came with us. This cache is hidden at an interesting roadside park at the former town of National (pronounced “nay shun nul” with a long “a”). This small park includes a functional replica of a famous bird observation tower which once stood less than a quarter mile away from 1915 to 1961 constructed to study a bird called the chimney swift.
The original tower was built by National’s most famous resident, Althea Sherman. Born in 1853 and moved to National in 1861, Miss Sherman was a college-educated woman in a time when few people went to school beyond the sixth grade, let alone college, especially women. Although she was formally educated as an art teacher, she became an expert in ornithology (the study of birds) when she moved back to her childhood home at National in 1895. She lived there until the time of her death at age 89 in 1943. During that time, she filled 60 notebooks with meticulous observations and wrote more than 40 papers for professional journals on the study of birds. In 1915, at age 62, she designed and helped build the tower structure with the intent to study the habits of the chimney swift. This particular bird is known for building its nest in chimneys. The tower consisted of a central “chimney” section with window pane openings for viewing the birds surrounded by a staircase and platforms for taking notes and making drawings. The structure measured 9 feet square by 28 feet tall. The park includes a small picnic area. It is also adjacent to the National cemetery. Miss Sherman is buried less than 150 feet from the replica tower built in her honor. [U]Open Houses for 2011:[/U] If you want to see inside the tower or learn more, the tower is open for viewing 1:00-3:00pm only on July 4 and October 1 in 2011. Tour guides will also be available to answer questions. Future tours might be planned for 2012, but once chimney swifts begin to nest there, the tower will be closed to the public to avoid disturbing the birds. [U]The cache[/U]: This cache container is a camouflaged peanut butter jar containing a logbook, pencil, and starts with a few nice trade items. Please sign the log, trade fairly, and return the container to its original location and state of concealment for others’ enjoyment.