Caching in Dakota City....Friday the 13th 8/13/2010

This is our last day in this area so we headed down to Dakota City to do a few of the caches there. Our first cache was in a small park coming into the city where they had a painted statue of a Newfoundland dog. Next was a cache at the old Dakota City train station that they are trying to raise enough money to restore. Next was another cache on the other side of the city on another welcome to sign. Then we did caches along the Missouri River, in a small children's park, at a Veteran's Memorial Park, a wooden post along a corn field, a goose pond, at a shrine at the Elks Lodge, under a light post skirt at a shopping center, in front of HyVee Grocery Store in a tree and another on a dead end street in a fence post.

We did do 2 interesting and historical caches. The first was on a walkway and boardwalk where the Lewis & Clark Expedition used as a Lookout Point on the Missouri River on their expedition...they stopped in this area to rest and resupply themselves on their journey.

The other one was at the site in Dakota City where the first Lutheran church building was built in Nebraska, the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, a Greek Revival style structure built in 1860. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The first pastor was the Reverend Henry W. Kuhns, who was a missionary sent by the Allegheny Synod to Nebraska Territory. Rev. Kuhns first preached in the front room of Bates House, a hotel, in November of 1850. The church was formally organized July 22, 1859. Plans were started for the building of the church, but their idea of moving an abandoned store from the abandoned town of Pacific City came to an end when a prairie fire destroyed the building as it was being moved to Dakota City. The present church was designed and built by Augustus T. Haase, a local carpenter and a member of the Emmanuel Lutheran congregation, at a total cost of $2,000. The building also served periodically as a Territorial courthouse, and religious services were still held on Sunday as usual. The church stands today as a proud monument to the tenacity and strengh of purpose of the early Dakota County settlers.

Then it was back to Wal Mart to pick up a few things and then on back to the coach. Well until next time we love and miss you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick