This is Vermont: Winooski Traditional Cache
Hidden : 11/22/2008
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works
Looking for a different adventure?

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

This is Vermont: Winooski

This cache is part of the Vermont 251 Plus 4 Geocaching Club, an attempt to bring caches to each and every town, city and gore in the state of Vermont!


Winooski Falls with the Champlain Mill in the background.

Winooski Facts

 County: Chittenden
City Incorporated: April 1, 1921
Area: 887 Acres = 1.39 Square Miles [ Size Rank: 254* ]
Coordinates (Geographic Center): 73°11''W 44°29'N
Altitude: 200 feet ASL
Population (US Census, 2000): 6,561 [ Population Rank: 19* ]
Population Density (persons per square mile): 4,720.1 [ Density Rank: 1* ]

*Area, Population and Density rankings above refer to Winooski's relative position among Vermont's 255 civic entities (9 cities, 242 towns, 4 gores and grants).

The name comes from the Abenaki for "wild onions", plentiful along the river. The earliest European documentation offering a written approximation of the native word are French-made maps, which identify the river as "Ouinousqui".

In the southeast corner of Colchester was a fine natural falls in the Winooski (then Onion or French) River (more River info here) where Ira Allen, one of the grantees of Colchester, built grain and lumber mills in about 1772. To protect their interests from marauding French and Indians, he and his cousin Remember Baker built a two-story palisaded enclosure which they called Fort Frederick. Good land nearby attracted settlers, and the community which grew up around the mills and the fort became known as Allen's Settlement, later as Winooski Falls, then simply Winooski when it was incorporated as a civil entity separate from Colchester.

The large number of French Canadians who came to work in the textile mills in later years resulted in a portion of the city being referred to as French Village.

In the late Seventies, it was suggested that Winooski be covered with a dome as a means of saving energy, snow removal and other municpal costs. The suggestion was especially interesting to Community Development Director Mark Tigan, who vigorously investigated the possibility, making national (and apparently, worldwide) news in the process. More than one application to the US Department of Energy, asking for funds to study the idea, were turned down, and the enthusiam went away. But that's not the end of it...

In July of 2008, Virtual Vermont Internet Magazine received an inquiry from Chen Bai of Shanghai, asking for information on Winooski's "giant umbrella." Seems that Bai's daughter's 6th grade textbook contains a writeup about a clear plastic umbrella covering the city (supported by an 11-story central tube) which can be opened and closed at will. The story is apparently quite popular in mainland China. Bai sent pictures of the textbook cover and the article itself, along with a translation. The texbook even contains an artist's concept of what Winooski looks like, complete with hot air balloons, under its umbrella (there's no resemblance that we can discern). We provided Bai with the real story.

About the cache

The cache is located in a fairly high muggle area, so stealthiness will be in order.

Located in this cache are two code numbers. These numbers are needed to locate the cache This is Vermont: Chittenden County

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

zntargvp

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)


Advertising with Us

Inventory

There are no Trackables in this cache.

View past Trackables

What are Trackable Items?

Bookmark Lists

View all bookmark lists...