Long Description:
Beware poison ivy! Wind and water resources make or break a society. Being more precious than gold, there never was enough water sources to go around, making it essential to prove out wells, or life was impossible.
The point of interest at W&WW1 (not the geocache itself), is a windmill shrouded in vines, which was broken off at the top by nature's fury in a severe thunderstorm. This is an incredible fete of strength: try looking at the windmill in Oskaloosa's "Old Town" park, and check out the thickness of steel in the tower. It would take a lot of force to snap the tower legs!
While landowner permission was secured for this geocache, do not cross the fence beyond the sign to examine the damaged windmill or in any manner contact nor bother the landowner in any way, shape means or form, as privacy and anonymity being hugely desired.
(For satisfying curiosity, there are working windmills in Oskaloosa which may be approached; examined at lenjgth: one being in the aforementioned historic park; other located at hwy 59 Oskie Greenhouse business
Of further interest are the vines shrouding the windmills. Many times where all the good homestead sites were already taken up (along streams, creeks, springs, rivers and lakes) all that remained to settle was barren grassland; commonly having no trees or any natural sources of water.
Pioneers would plant trees, but in the time it took for shade trees to grow, they would trellis vines for shade and cooling of their houses, which would usually provide shade in less than one year. Usually two types of vines would be planted: fast growing annuals like squash or tomatoes, and slower growing, winter tolerant varieties that could survive Kansas bitter winters and snow.
There are three Dutch type windmills in Kansas, one in Smith Center (burned inside, made into city park building) link, One in Wamego (being restored to grind flour) link and a working replica in Hillsboro's Mennonite Settlement museum: Jacob Friesen Windmill replicalink
To see a sampling of what made Kansas and how it was accomplished, check out Hiawatha's Museum, having a lane of different windmill types, including those that produced electricity for rural homes. link
Today water is as vital to life as ever, and windpower is making a comeback pumping water for livestock and people, generating electricity and even powering farm machinery.
Mostly water power was considered superior, being generally available continually, unlike a variable resource like wind, but where water power was not available, wind was made to work.
In Lawrence, situated on the bluff near Ninth and Emery Road (windmill apartment) linkstood the first windmill built in Kansas, a multi purpose Dutch type windmill whose job it was to grind grain into flour; power a foundry and farm equipment manufactory, and to provide motive power for many other concerns, including a buggy manufacturing shop. linkEfforts were being made to save this unique industrial windmill and create a museum, but a thunderstorm and lightning strike (some theorize vagrants) in 1905 burned the mill to ashes before financing could be secured. Photolinkand PDF K.H.D.linkArtilcelinkLawrence Journal world 1980 articlelink
Originally, cache contained: a) pendulum for map dowsing/water witching, b) Element 105 Unuptanium (not available on Earth & 
IE:rhinestones), and c) key rings.
BYOP as cache is too small to hold a pen for signing logbook.
Finding water in early days was done via map dowsing, IE: placing a map of property beneath a pendulum to detect the water source. Typically this was followed taking pendulum into field and "water witching" the area found on map for more detailed information such as direction of water flow, breadth and width of water source, distance to be dug and gallons of water per minute to be had. Imagine! All this with just a weight and piece of string for a pendulum; why not try your hand at this and see what happens?!link and link
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GPSs clues in multi-cache series begin at W&WW1 and each cache has clues to the next(s) in series
- W&WW2 farm windgenerator nearby on US Hwy 59; clues to W&WW5 and clues to virtual caches W&WW3 & 4