The hunt is over! The Winterfest medallion was found Friday morning by Cason Marchbanks, 14, of Cazenovia. The medallion was hidden in the horse trough at the Lorenzo State Historic Site.
Cason, who is homeschooled, said he and mom, Amy, used the medallion hunt as a local history lesson – and an impromptu gym class – spending several hours and walking more than five miles on Thursday after the first clue was posted on the Caz Life Facebook page.
Here’s how they cracked the code:
The first clue directed everyone to stay on public land, but also included an image of the medallion. The back was engraved with the name Theophilus Cazenove, an agent of the Holland Land Company and the man for whom Cazenovia is named.
That sent Cason exploring “anywhere the signs pointed to Caz history.” The mother and son duo actually searched Lorenzo on Thursday but didn’t spot the medallion.
Their luck changed on Friday, with the last lines of the second clue: “Go to a historic site/ And your treasure hunt dreams may take flight.”
They went straight back to Lorenzo – the “historic site” mentioned in the clue – and the horse trough, because of the words “take flight.” Said Cason, “We thought the horse trough could be used as a bird bath. We took the clue the wrong way, but we found the medallion anyway.”
The horse trough is located at the end of the path through the formal garden behind the mansion. Matthew MacVittie, historic site manager at Lorenzo – who was in on the secret of the medallion’s location – said they knew it had been found when they heard cheering coming from the garden.
Congratulations Cason!
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