About searching...
Please be respectful of the cemetery as you search. The cache is not located near a grave or headstone. In case you haven’t figured it out by the listing name and the picture, the cache is located on the artillery piece. This tends to be a pretty quiet location, but please use discretion when caching.
About the location…
This Artillery Piece is a M9A1 3-inch Field Gun. It was manufactured by Rock Island Arsenal in 1944. These types of guns were used by the US Army during World War II. After the war, cannons like this were decommissioned and made available to American Legion Halls, Veterans of Foreign War Posts, County Buildings, Cemeteries, etc. through FEMA. According to locals, this particular cannon was donated by VFW Post 7510 (uncertain of the year). Many of the past members of VFW Post 7510 are buried in lots near the cannon.
Allen Township Cemetery was formed in 1885 when the parishioners at St. John Lutheran Church, Williston (search for GC49BCE - Marty's Backyard) purchased two acres of land for use as a congregational cemetery. If you have time to explore, you can find graves dating back to the 1880’s.
In 1941, the church turned the cemetery care and title over to the Allen Township Trustees. Since then the cemetery has been expanded twice. In 1968 1,200 burial plots were added, and in 2003 the trustees purchased an additional 5.5 acres and dug the pond at the original coordinates. The Firefighters and Veterans Memorial (adjacent to the pond) was dedicated in 2011
(While you are in the area, you may want to also search for GC4M0CA -Allen Township Cemetery.)
