Michigan Spirit Quest #50 - "Looking Back" Mystery Cache

This is a simple 5-stage offset cache located in and around the main Allen cemetery. You will have to get dates off of some of the stones in the cemetery to get to the next stage. If you were to walk the distance for the entire cache, the terrain rating would be a 2.

• NO NIGHT CACHING
• NO PHYSICAL CONTAINERS ARE LOCATED IN THE CEMETERY
• Permission granted for the placement of the physical container on September 17, 2009.

"Michigan Spirit Quest"

The Michigan Spirit Quest series of geocaches will take you to a number of historic cemeteries built by MICHIGAN Pioneers. This series is inspired by and is a continuation of the Indiana Spirit Quest caches created by SixDogTeam.

(Photos by allenite)

Welcome to the Allen Cemetery, Allen Township, Hillsdale County. In the five stages of this cache, we will take a trip back through the history of the village with stops at the points of interest that have contributed to the town.

Stage 1: N 41° 57.502 W 084° 45.654

The Gardeners

The first acre of which sold to the Township for a "Burying Ground" on February 26, 1836 in exchange for $10 in "lawful money." At the first coordinates you will be met with two large stone entrance gates. These gates were donated by the Allen Amateur Garden Club. The older population of the town will remember their use by the former police department, who would often be parked behind the walls. The Allen Garden Club was organized in March 1933 and federated in 1940. They held annual flower sales to the public and its members. The Allen Garden Club disbanded in the mid-1950s.

• Question: What year was the gate erected? 19AA
• AA + 3 = BB

Stage 2: N41° 57.356 W84° 45.6BB

People are not the only ones remembered here

At this location, you will discover a cornerstone to an old landmark of the town. The First Baptist Church in Allen was organized in 1841 sharing a wood-frame facility with the Methodist Church. In the early 1870s, it was decided to build a new brick structure at the cost of $10,000. When the main school burned in early 1913, the church offered the use of its facilities while a new school was constructed. It remained a site of worship until the late 1930s, when the building was condemned due to an unsafe roof. The building was razed during Labor Day weekend in 1944. The bricks, two of the windows, and the bell were moved and used to construct the North Adams Baptist Church still standing today. The cornerstone was dropped off at the cemetery where it remains today.

• Question: What year was the church erected? 1CD1

Stage 3: N41° 57.3C0 W84° 45.6BB

The Planner

Every town has a person in its history that had big plans for the town. For Allen, that person was Albert Prentiss. Prentiss laid out the plots for the town including expansions that have never materialized. Six streets never came to be from his original plan. The locals who knew him remembered him as always carrying a gold-headed cane and wearing a stiff high hat.

• Question: In what year was Mary Prentiss born? 1EE1
• Question: In what year did Albert Prentiss die? 190F

Stage 4: N41° 57.3CF W84° 45.6EE

The Pioneer

Of course every town has a founder. For this town it was Captain Moses Allen. Born in 1786, he was in Canada when the War of 1812 broke out where he was impressed into the British Army. After deserting and returning to Detroit, he enlisted with the US Army, where he was later taken prisoner by the British. With some help of a fellow Mason, he escaped to Ohio. Allen first visited the area in 1825 as part of a surveying party for the Sauk Trail. A couple of years later in the spring, he returned with his wife and six children. It was noted that Allen was a skilled carpenter and cabinet maker. The Indians in the area especially liked his rocking chairs. He also made a make-shift mill as the closest mill was in Tecumseh around 50 miles away. Sadly, Moses Allen passed away at the age of 43, on November 19, 1829 while building a tavern to accommodate the ever increasing travelers.

• Question: In what year did Moses Allen settle this area? 18GH
• H - G = J

Final Stage: N41° 57.J1J W84° 45.6D6

The plaque near the final stage will tell the story, but I do not wish to give away the location. The final container is a micro with a log and pencil. Sadly, no room for TBs.

The cache is not located near a grave... If you find a fallen US flag, please stick it back in the ground or replace it. As always, please be respectful, and cache in, trash out.

MSQ caches are brought to you by the following fellows of GEOMSQ: SixDogTeam (Earthdog Patrick, Lead Dog, Wheel Dog), Wolverine Warriors, The Outcaches, SafariBob & Tweety, PairOMedicChick, Cyclops, Son of Cyclops, The Herd, Menstown1, Ali Kat, Jagman714, Geo's Loulog, MI Chickenlegs, sweetlife, MiTuCats, TeamMina, and allenite. If you are interested in spreading the Quest to your neck of the woods AND WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, email Wolverine Warriors.