The last of the 150 challenge coins for the 2025 Challenge was given out on Friday, April 11th. Thank you all for participating!
This Geocache is part of an annual Geocache Challenge put on by the Heritage Program at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area as part of our outreach to the public, to get people to explore their forest and their history, and to share the unique heritage of the families from Between the Rivers.
This Geocache is part of the “2025 Land Between the Lakes Heritage Geocache Challenge: General Stores Between the Rivers”. There are 7 geocaches placed across Land Between the Lakes related to the history of the Community General Stores between the rivers. If you locate each geocache, and collect a numbered aluminum tree tag from each cache, you can turn them in at the Golden Pond Visitor Center for one of 150 Challenge Coins created for this event.
The Geocache is a 6” x 6” orange watertight plastic box marked “Heritage Geocache” on the top. The geocache is placed at the base of a tree.
Payne's General Store
Mrs. Rowena Payne opened her grocery store in the 1920s, in Sardis. The store served as a vital resource for the commu-nity, especially in the early days when the roads were poor. Due to those conditions, Mrs. Payne had to meet grocery deliveries in a wagon because trucks couldn't reach the store. The store was a lifeline for the community, ensur-ing residents had access to food and supplies despite infrastructural challenges.
