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THE SNOKOMO SCHOOLHOUSE LbNA #10689

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Aug 29, 2004
Location:
City:Alma
County:Wabaunsee
State:Kansas
Boxes:1
Planted by:What If? Why Not!
Found by: Smoked Whitefish
Last found:May 2, 2009
Status:FFFFFFFFaFFa
Last edited:Aug 29, 2004
Alive and well as of Nov. 21, 2004
Compass? Yes
Kid Friendly: Yes
Difficulty: Easy

HISTORIC SITE #1--THE SNOKOMO SCHOOLHOUSE
DIRECTIONS: Leave I-70 at Exit 335, Snokomo Road,and drive south. Wind through the Snokomo Creek Valley for 6.4 miles until you arrive at the Snokomo Schoolhouse which is situated on the east side of the road. (You will pass by an 1890 stone schoolhouse on the west side of the road--keep going.)

GUAGE PACES: These clues are based on the following pace measurement: the distance from the NW corner of the schoolhouse to the first oak tree north of the school is 15 paces.

CLUES: The Snokomo Schoolhouse has school board records that go back to the 1860s. Generally the school year lasted for seven months. Between 1870 and 1900 the illiteracy rate in Kansas was less than 3 percent. Students studied reading, grammar, arithmetic, geography, history and physiology.

So, these clues will have a little reading, a little 'riting and a little 'rithmetic...See how well YOU know your "3 R's"!

READING--Locate the historic marker south of the school, near the road, and read it carefully.

'RITING--Children in this school spelled out their A-B-Cs on slates and paper. But when Helen Keller was a child, her tutor used another medium to write out Helen's first word. If you know what the tutor used, you will know where to go next.

'Rithmetic--Walk due north to the nearest oak tree. Walk due east from the tree, counting paces equal to the school district number engraved on the west face of the building. Find 125 degrees on your compass and face in that direction. Count paces equal to the original cost of the building divided by 20. Find 255 degrees on your compass and take 32 paces. Face south. You will be able to gently move something with your feet, revealing the letterbox. Carefully replace the box after stamping your log.

You may return to I-70 by reversing the route OR you can continue on the Skyline-Mill Creek Scenic Drive. If you continue, you will experience a breath-taking, ridge-top drive through tallgrass prairie and then a drive through part of the Mill Creek Valley. You will finally enter the interesting and historic town of Alma. I-70 is just a short drive north from Alma.