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Cemetary Caching Questions.


Woodstramp

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I'm a newbie who's found a few GC's. I'm attracted to GCing not because I want to find a jillion of these things, but because of the cool, out of the way places it brings you to. You can tell that a lot of folks here really put a lot of thought into their caches and where they're placed.

 

I would like to plant my first two caches and they just happen to be in graveyards. That may sound like a creepy place for a cache, but cemetaries often have a lot of history in them. One that interests me, is a local, cemetary where one of my heroes is buried. It is has graves from pre-Civil War to the present. The other is an old abandoned "po' folks" cemetary on some state owned land. Rocks for head stones poor.

 

The first question is about the first graveyard. Who "owns" cemetaries? I assume families own plots within, but how do you find out who to get permission from? I'm not real crazy about planting a cache directly on a gravesite, even with the family's permission. I'd be afraid of unintentional damage to the site. Slightly off site would be better,but still close. But still in the cemetary boundary.

 

The second is on a state owned Wildlife Management Area (or state owned/leased public hunting area). Access to this place would be off the beaten track. I.m fairly sure I can get permission to plant one here, but I'd like to gather some history on this site first. Wonder where you'd go to find out who's buried in an unmarked, abandoned graveyard?

 

Any pointers would be apreciated. -Woodstramp

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I can't help with the second one.... but the cemetery is probably part of a cemetery district. Best way to find out is t goggle the cemetery name. Should come up with lots of pages about genealogy. Most likely hosted by rootsweb.com.

 

If you need any help, let me know. I know MUCH MUCH more about genealogy than I do geocaching!

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Unfortunately, I don't know much about your primary questions, I'm sorry. But, while reading it, I was struck by this comment you made:

 

I'm not real crazy about planting a cache directly on a gravesite, even with the family's permission. I'd be afraid of unintentional damage to the site. Slightly off site would be better,but still close. But still in the cemetary boundary.

 

Another thought I had was to do a multi/offset/puzzle/whatever-it's-called.... where they need to get info from in the cemetery, but then the actual cache could be outside the gate, or in an area where it would be ok to have people rummaging around a bit.

 

~Ariel

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Slightly off site would be better,but still close.

Yes, place it away from the graves. You can create a path through different areas, make'em visit different markers, or whatever to have folks visit specific graves, but don't place anything physical there folks to search for--use clues like names, dates or information off the markers.

 

As for the unmarked cemetery, you can ask whoever is in charge of the land. They'll mostly likely be the ones who'd know right off the tops of their heads.

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... Who "owns" cemetaries? ....The second is on a state owned Wildlife Management Area (or state owned/leased public hunting area). Access to this place would be off the beaten track. ...

 

Cemetery owners vary. Some are on public lands and are essentially abandoned. Others are private, others are owned by the city/county etc. and supported by taxpayer roles. Two sources of information come to mind. Call a funeral home. They would know if its' still an active cemetery. Next is your county assessors office. They trakc who ownes what so they can collect property tax.

 

Next on the Game Management Area. This may very. Here in the west a game management area is really a Fish and Game concept that manages hunting and wildlife within boundaries that don't pay much attention to who owns and controls the land directly. Thus Fish and Game would not be the right party. When fish and game owns land directly they tend to either make it a park for a refuge both have different tolerance for caches. Your area may be organized differently.

 

Edit: Looks like Logan Clan has a simpler method on the cemetary.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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Thus Fish and Game would not be the right party. When fish and game owns land directly they tend to either make it a park for a refuge both have different tolerance for caches.

Yeah, like when it's a refuge then caches are forbidden kind of tolerance. NF&WS folks have to operate under different and more strict guidelines than the NPS.

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I've not hidden one, but I've done quite a few cemetery caches. From my experience, the most important thing to remember is do NOT hide a cache IN the cemetery, but off in some adjacent woods. Using information from grave stones, though, especially those of historic interest as part of a multi or puzzle though makes for a good cemetery cache. The key is to have respect for those laid to rest there.

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For my cemetery hides I borrowed a paragraph of text, used on Waymarking. com in their descriptions for the different cemetery categories. I really like how it tells you to be respectful in a nice way.

 

"Always keep in mind that activities within or near any cemetery can be a point of great sensitivity among individuals both within and outside of our community. Do not touch, deface, or place items directly on markers or headstones. Please act appropriately and responsibly when you are in the area of these final resting places, including observing all posted hours of access."

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Thanks for all the information. I'll print this one for reference.

 

The first site I like because someone I've always admired lays there. I'd like to educate those who know nothing of him about his life with a cache. There are also other historical parcels like Confederate markers and and old stones for cachers to check out. This one is not far from an Interstate highway.

 

The other is just vertical field stones in the woods. It'd be nice to show young'ns who've never seen anything like that before. Some mountain folk are buried there. Basic folks with really basic burial arrangements. There are probably hundreds of these type plots in the south and a lot of folks have never seen one.

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The first site I like because someone I've always admired lays there. I'd like to educate those who know nothing of him about his life with a cache. There are also other historical parcels like Confederate markers and and old stones for cachers to check out. This one is not far from an Interstate highway.

 

 

If one or more grave is of historic interest, and you want people to learn about the person laid to rest there, a simple puzzle involving information on the tombstone may just be the way to go. For instance, hide the cache in the woods near the cemetery and list it as a puzzle or a multi (with the listed coordinates to the grave in question, or cemetery entrance)

 

Just an example: list the final at xx° xx.ABC xx° xx.DEF and on the cache page explain how to fill in the blanks by exploring the cemetery, such as A = last digit of the year so and so died, B = month so and so died, C = first digit of the age so and so died at, or more abstract things such as D = number of confederate veterans laid to rest here, E = number of statues at the entrance, F = last digit of the year a plaque or statue on site was dedicated. Or anything else along those lines.

 

. I've seen that done at quite a few historic cemetery caches in my area. I feel it is respectful of the deceased and can be a lot of fun, especially if you list history about the person, people, or cemetery on the cache page.

 

(edit: spelling)

Edited by nekom
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We have 2 Wildlife Refuges in our area, both managed by Fish and Game. They DO NOT allow caches within their boundaries. However, along the outside boundary of one there is a creek and dirt road. We have placed a series of caches along the dirt road to bring cachers to that refuge, which also has a 1-1/2 mile walking trail and observation platform inside.

The other refuge has no roads or creeks outside (just the highway leading to it) so we placed a series of caches along the highway to lead cachers to that refuge, which has a 6 mile driving tour inside.

Both refuges are very scenic, have endangered animals and birds, and are open all year round.

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We have a lot of cemetery caches in Wisconsin, designated by the acronym WSQ. From one of them:

 

The WSQ in the cache title refers to Wisconsin Spirit Quest. This acronym is used by cache owners in the state to identify their cemetery caches. As this is classified as a cemetery cache please note it is NOT hidden on any grave marker or site. If there is a service going on, or folks are visiting their loved ones when you arrive please be respectful and come back at a later time. Your understanding and compassion for those folks will be appreciated.

 

I have found a few so far. They seem to be a good place to hide rural caches. The caches have been in the cemetery, but hidden in a tree, post, etc.

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