Treasure Hunt Database (THDB)
Regional history converges with fiction and local lore in this Grand Forks hunt with a record-breaking prize.
When a century-old letter from town founder Alexander Griggs is discovered in the courthouse archives, Grand Forks business owners Justin and Matt become reluctant allies on a landmark-hopping treasure hunt through the city's parks, museums, and other prominent locations.
The hunt was publicized as the largest treasure hunt in the history of North Dakota.
Each chapter leads to a location in Grand Forks and a plaque at each location. The chapter title hints to the location, and a fragment of text in the chapter appears verbatim on the plaque to use. Numeric letters in each chapter indicated the letters to extract from each chapter's plaque (count all letters and numbers including the header text, but ignore punctuation).
Extracting letters by all the letters in chapters in order, one gets: The Seventh Space Dot Com
Going to that website (no longer available), one would register, and then be presented with a riddle (shown further down this page below).
Scroll table horizontally to view more ➤
| Chapter | Grand Forks Location | Specific Plaque Location | Confirmer Text | Numbers | Solve Letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prologue | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1. The Courthouse Conundrum | Grand Forks County Courthouse | Alexander Griggs Statue | “Griggs established a steamboat enterprise on the Red River of the North” | 105,306,3 | THE |
| 2. Zen and the Art of Treasure Hunting | Sertoma Park | Engraved rock near stone lanterns | “light the way for the exchange of knowledge” | 25,3 | SE |
| 3. Flood of Memories | Welcome gates/flood walls near Town Square Grand Forks | Eastern side of gates | “the community's recovery from that disaster” | 217,20,4 | VEN |
| 4. A Walk in the Park | Lincoln Drive Park | Stone walkway leading to statue of kids swinging | “the heart of our community” | 42,12,54 | THS |
| 5. Echoes of the Past | Grand Forks County Historical Society/Myra Museum | School House | “at a time when most Americans lived in rural areas” | 191,32,12,21 | PACE |
| 6. Hat Tricks & Hot Dish | Ralph Engelstad Arena | Statue of Sitting Bull | “a man born to greatness” | 1,84,191 | DOT |
| 7. Scholarly Pursuits | University Park | “Porte Du Nord” sculpture | “Council for the Arts and Humanities” | 13,2,23 | COM |
When you're finished breaking bread, where will you land?
Will your long and winding road end with eternal damnation?
Or will you find salvation with the prince of peace?
When faced with a choice avoid peril at all cost.
Stay true! Seek and ye shall find the holey trinity.
All that is left is to take a walk. Maybe you'll get lucky.
Translation:
North Dakota Mill and nearby boat landing
Near the dam, a path starts with rocks painted with the Prince logo and a peace sign
At the Y in the path, to the left is a danger sign, don't go that way.
Keep walking until finding the hole 3 sign from the disc golf course.
Turn left, and take 7 ("lucky") paces.