Over 100 years ago , this church was built as a gathering place for a bustling industrial town. It has long since been bolted and locked to future patrons, but the rich history of this place can be felt approaching the GZ.
This geocache is an Offering Box to cachers and kids.
An easy find, a history rich area, and a swag rich box for both the young ones and fellow cachers alike.
Please assist in keeping this cache fun and safe by removing any trash and keeping the swag safe and fun for all.
please replace out of sight as it is meant to be but within easy reach.
From the Maine Encyclopedia:
A little about Shapleigh Maine.
SHAP-lee] is a town in York County, settled in 1772 and incorporated on March 5, 1785 from Shapleigh Plantation, once known as Hubbardstown. Shapleigh swapped land with Sanford (1787, 1820), with Lebanon (1793, 1825), and with Acton (1830, 1831). Finally, it ceded land to Newfield in 1846 and annexed land from Waterborough in 1854 to complete its modern boundaries.
After reaching an historic low of number residents in 1940 at 290, the town had nearly ten times that population in 2010, rivaling its 1820 high of 2,815.
Named for Nicholas Shapleigh, a landowner, the town is bordered on the west by Square Lake and Mousam Lake. Maine Route 11 moves up from Sanford through the villages of Emery Mills, Shapleigh, and North Shapleigh near the lake shores.
Shapleigh was first settled in 1772. In that year Simon Emery established a sawmill near what is now Emery Mills village. In the 1880’s, North Shapleigh had its own sawmill, a woolen mill, and a leather board factory. Hargraves Woolen Mill, established in 1844, was a custom carding and woolen mill. Later it produced blue blouse flannels (possibly Civil War uniforms), and cashmere. At one point it employed from 60-75 people. The Mill, closed in 1904, was demolished in 1928.
The Shapleigh Woods, managed by The Nature Conservancy, is a 265-acre preserve that ensures protection for one of the world’s largest known populations of the federally endangered small whorled begonia