The first church was a Baptist church built in 1747 in Coram, on the site of the present Methodist church. This church stood for about 100 years, but little is known about it except the old graveyard across the road that contains the graves of many of the first settlers of Coram.
(Information from http://www.savetheyaphanklakes.org/history/earlyyears.pdf)
The oldest church still standing in Coram is the Trinity Methodist Church which was built in Middle Island in 1841 and moved to the present spot in 1858. There had been a Baptist Church there first, and the old cemetery is still there.
(Information from http://middlecountryrdproject.org/Meandering.html)
The Church was important, as we know, in our country’s early history and such was true in Coram. In 1747, A Baptist meeting house was built, Rev. Noah Hammond, of Connecticut, the organizer. It was the first, and for a long time, the only church of that denomination in Suffolk County. Not much is known of its history, and in 1847, the building was torn down. It is thought individuals owned shares, as was sometimes done in those days. A newspaper item, dated 1789, gives support to this theory because it states Samuel Bishop quit claimed all his interest In the Baptist meeting house and ground in Coram to David Overton. Tombstones in Coram bear inscriptions testifying to membership of the deceased in the Baptist Church. In 1858, a Methodist Church was built on the site. This congregation, as well as the materials for the building, moved, from Middle Island, where 80 rods from the Presbyterian Church had stood a Methodist Church. The members tore down the church there and rebuilt in Coram. An itinerary of Rev. Mitchell B. Bull, a Methodist Circuit Rider in 1807 gives a destination for each of the 31 days in the month of May of that year. Saturday 16th - Ride to Coram, Joseph Roe’s”. After the Revolution, a Captain Norton became an elder and later a minister of the Baptist Church in Coram. An amusing reminiscence by J.D. Henderson is recounted in an 1888 newspaper. It tells how, when Henderson was a child, Rev. Norton was a frequent visitor to his home. On one occasion the dominie remained over night. The child’s mother sent him into the room to fetch the tallow dip. There on the table was a wig and on the pillow was the head of Rev. Norton, “bald as the rising moon.” Greatly frightened, the boy rushed to his mother, insisting the Rev. Norton had taken off his head. The next morning the Reverend good naturedly demonstrated “how the thing worked,”.
(Information from http://www.coramcivic.org/HistoryOfCoram.html)
The cache is in one of these cemeteries, but I do hope you will explore both while you're here. There is parking in front of the cemetery adjacent to Trinity Methodist Church. Please, as always, be respectful of the graveyard, and do not disturb any of the headstones. The cache is NOT hidden by any of the graves. You're looking for a micro with no room for trades. Be sure to re-hide the container well.
Also, please keep in mind that while you can probably attempt this cache at night, there is a bit of a homeless population in this section of Coram, and it seems this may be used as a place to sleep occassionally, so please be aware and be safe.
Happy caching!
Additional information on the history of this church can be found at http://oldsouthhavenchurch.org/history/history.htm