AGT-McKean-Irish Settlement Traditional Geocache
AGT-McKean-Irish Settlement
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A short walk on level ground, and not too hard to find. The cache
is located just outside the cemetery next to the historic St.
Mary's Church. As always, please practice CITO, we all know how
cemeteries get , with artificial flowers blowing around. Good luck,
don't forget to stamp your passport
The geocache hidden at the posted coordinates is a regular
geocache, however, it is also part of the Allegheny GeoTrail (AGT),
a publicly funded project designed to promote a pleasant and
positive experience and image of the Allegheny National Forest
region and its gateway communities. The AGT utilizes the growing
interest in geocaching to assist both residents and visitors to the
area in learning more about the unique attractions in the ten
participating counties. This cache contains a unique self inking
rubber stamp which you should use to stamp your Allegheny GeoTrail
Passport to verify that you found it. When you have found a minimum
of six AGT caches, you will be eligible to have your AGT passport
validated and receive a commemorative AGT trackable geocoin at
participating locations. You must have your official AGT passport
with you when you find this cache in order to stamp it. Click on
the Allegheny GeoTrail Logo below to visit the AGT website at
www.alleghenygeotrail.com for complete details and a listing of
participating locations where you may pick up and validate AGT
passports to receive your souvenir geocoin, trackable at
www.geocaching.com .
The History of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church In Sartwell, Annin
Township McKean County. John Keating was born in Ireland in 1760.
In 1796 he and his family moved to the United States, he purchased
297,000 acres of land in McKean, Potter, Cameron, Clinton, and
Clearfield counties. In 1842, through the efforts of Keating &
Company, seven Hardy Irish families settled in the wilderness of
Sartwell, The families were George Oliver, James Oliver, Edward
McMann, Patrick Masterson, John Crowley, William Crowley and John
Connors. In 1847 some twenty families had come to the settlement
and each subcribed forty dollars to the project, they cleared the
land for the cemetery and to build a church, in 1848 Bishop Michael
O’Connor came in from Pittsburgh to dedicate the new building to
the Blessed Mother under the title of Saint Mary. Fr. Thomas Smith
was the pastor from October 1848 to June, 1850. In the years later
until 1860 about one hundred families were living in what was known
as “Irish Settlement “ This was the background for the
establishment of St. Mary’s Parish. St. Mary’s is one of the most
historic parishes in all northwestern Pennsylvania, and may be the
first Catholic settlement of any size in McKean county. The two
front monuments in the Sartwell cemetery are for Fr. Madigan
(1856-1866) and Fr. Patterson (1868-1889), these priests are buried
under the location of the altar of the first Church. Father
Patterson built the present St. Mary's Church, and St. Elizabeth
(Smethport), St. Gabriel (Port Allegany) St. Raphael (Eldred), St
John (Duke Center- no longer open), St. Paul (Costello), and the
missions in Roulette and Austin. So as it is written, St Mary's of
Sartwell was the founding Church for many in our area. Father Brian
Vossler, Laura Quinn (Parish Sectretary), Dee & Gary Hardes and
to all the Parish of St Mary's for all your help to me, to make
this Geocache possible.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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