Massaponax Church Traditional Cache

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Hidden : 4/18/2010
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

CONGRATULATIONS TO ton9819 FOR FTF !!!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ton9819 FOR FTF !!!!!!!!

This cache is located at the Massaponax Baptist Church.
BYOP as there is no room in the cache for one.

This old church was used by the Confederate and Union Armies during
the Civil War. Right after the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse,
General Ulysses Grant and General George Meade had the pews removed
from the church and place in the grass area in front of the church
to hold a large war council. There is a well know photograph of
this meeting taken by Timothy O'Sullivan.

There is an plaque in the parking lot contains this photo and other information about the
church.
(visit link)

The following is information from the Church's website:

In 1859 the building was
erected. The bricks for the exterior walls of the church were made
and burned in a kiln in a nearby field. The interior walls were
made with sun baked bricks, rendering them soft and easy to damage.
This new building was completed in October of 1859 and cost $3,000.
The first pastor of the new building was Joseph Billingsley. He was
famous for preaching long sermons of about two and a half hours.
This did not sit well with the congregation. On one occasion, it is
said that, they wedged the door to exclude him, but he preached his
sermon in the church yard. Billingsley remained at the church for
many years and baptized more than 300 members.

The new church building was less than ten years old when the Civil War began. In
1863, the church was instructed to give letters of dismissal to all
black members of the congregation. The black congregation had
managed to form several small churches of their own during this
time. Both armies used the building as their headquarters. It was
used as a stable, a hospital and a meeting place to plan strategies
for the next attack. The walls of the church where filled with
stories of trying times, crude battle scenes, messages of love and
the names of companies, troops and soldiers. When the war was over,
the members began the great clean up. The walls were whitewashed of
the unsightly marks and the sad stories were forgotten.

In 1938 the church began showing signs of age and was redecorated with a new
roof, fresh paint, new carpet and chandeliers. During this
renovation, the writing on the walls from the Civil War was
uncovered. Today the writings can be seen in the balcony and are
protected with a plexiglass frame. An addition was built in 1949 to
house the Sunday School classes and a fellowship hall. A lovely
brick cottage, to provide living space for the pastor, was built a
short distance from the church in 1956. In 1938 the church began
showing signs of age and was redecorated with a new roof, fresh
paint, new carpet and chandeliers. During this renovation, the
writing on the walls from the Civil War was uncovered. Today the
writings can be seen in the balcony and are protected with a
plexiglass frame. An addition was built in 1949 to house the Sunday
School classes and a fellowship hall. A lovely brick cottage, to
provide living space for the pastor, was built a short distance
from the church in 1956.

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