Sacred Ground Traditional Cache
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This is a traditional micro cache, located on the grounds of a restored Presbyterian Church in history-laden Mardela Springs, MD, that is purported to be one of the numerous Native American burial grounds in the area. The property is public, but some areas behind the church are private and off-limits, so please respect the areas so marked. Log-only, so BYOP.
The town of Barren Creek in historic Mardela Springs features a number of sites of interest including Barren Creek Springs Presbyterian Church. The church, which doubled as a schoolhouse for several years, was built in 1842 and is open year-round for tours. Located just yards away is the original Barren Creek Springs House which was once a hotel frequented by visitors from Baltimore, Washington and across the mid-Atlantic region who wished to experience the town's mineral water spa. Additionally, a Barren Creek Heritage Museum is operated at 413 Main Street and boasts 30 permanent exhibits which tell the story of settlement and growth on Wicomico's westside. The museum is open from April through mid-October from 10 AM until 2 PM. Guided tours of the museum and town are available upon request.
Recorded history of the Barren Creek area dates to the mid-1600s, when English fur traders drifted up the Nanticoke River to open commerce with the native Americans living there. Maryland's 1634 charter included all that part of the peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean (Delaware River) north of Virginia. Settlers moved into the lower peninsula coming north from Virginia's eastern shore and east from Virginia's Northern Neck area across the Chesapeake Bay. When William Penn in 1682 claimed the western shore of the Delaware River, it started a controversy with Maryland that would last until a boundary line for Delaware was agreed on in the mid-1700s.
Native Americans living along the eastern shores of the Nanticoke River were part of the Nanticoke tribe, but locally known as the PUCKAMEE group. They fished, hunted, and raised crops, lived in long houses, and, except for one recorded massacre of a white family, were generally peaceful. From 1678 to 1698 a reservation was established by the colonial Assembly, stretching from the mouth of Barren Creek to near Riverton and inland to the present town of Mardela Springs. By the early 1700s most had moved out of the area, going either north to Pennsylvania or east to the area around Millsboro, Delaware.
The local population, at some point in time that seems to be difficult to narrow down, recognized that there were numerous Puckamee burial sites in and around the town, and decided to honor those by the placement of a marker on the grounds of the Barren Creek Springs Presbyterian Church.
This church is listed as Site #248 on the Presbyterian /Reformed Historical Sites Registry.
PLEASE NOTE! It has come to my attention that there are some hazards on-site to be negotiated! Avoid the front stoop, steps, and door of the church, since there is a sizeable cache (sorry, had to do that) of bees inside the church walls and they get angry if you invade their space. There is also reportedly a wasp nest somewhere close to GZ, so PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur uvag vf va gur pnpur anzr.
Treasures
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