Published coordinates will bring you to the site of the former Sharp Street United Methodist Church. This church served the African-American community in Chase for more than a century. Built in 1865, all that is left of this place of worship is the foundation and a wooden frame with 2 original windows. The frame was constructed as a memorial to the church, and there is also a large stone placed at the center of the memorial. A cemetery surrounds the structure.
Sharp Street Methodist Episcopal Church was built to replace a mid 19th century log church located west of the small community then known as Chase's Station. The church was named for a church in Baltimore city (that church in the city still exists). The Sharp Street Church was one of the few buildings located east of the intersection of eastern Avenue and Earls Road. Farther to the east, Chase's Station and Post Office was developing as a thriving stop along the Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington Railroad.
The original church has a random rubble stone foundation, still visible at the front of the foundation. The structure was one story tall and three bays wide. Projecting from the crest of the roof was a pyramidal roof belfry with square column supports. The original church bell is still hanging in the belfry. There was a concrete block addition on the west side, built in March of 1975. On the east side was a playhouse built in 1990.
The cemetery flanks the church to the east and west. The east side contains about 10 marble and granite markers, randomly placed and facing west. Some of these markers have been toppled and are standing against the fence. Some of the oldest markers have only the date of the death and the age of the deceased. To the west is a cemetery that is still in use, with modern grave markers.
To log this cache, please do the following:
1. Post a picture in your log of your GPS device or phone with the wooden memorial structure in the background.
2. Message/Email me the name of the company that created the marble memorial inside the wood frame structure. This is on the back of the memorial.
There is a gate blocking vehicle entry to the parking lot here. However, there is parking for 1 or 2 cars outside the gate and a wide opening for people to walk in. Parking is also available in Eastern Regional Park nearby. Please be respectful of the grounds and the memorial. In my visits here I have encountered virtually no trash, but if you see any, please carry it out.
Congratulations to JL826 for FTF.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
