Note: This Geocache was originally hidden in 2005 by Geocacher PitterPatter. In February 2023, Geocacher NoPunchline adopted the Geocache to help maintain it and keep it active in Whitby.
The original Geocache container is no longer here (and the original hint was "Container is a camo taped cooler jug.") The cache has been replaced and is now a micro container within a small container, hanging on a tree branch.
And the noteworthy nearby site - the miniature replica of the Almonds United Church - is also no longer here. It was moved due to nearby construction, and now resides at St. Mark's United Church in Downtown Whitby. Or, more specifically for us Geocachers, at N 43° 52.694' W 078° 56.632'.
The rest of the text on this Geocaching listing remains true to when it was originally published, and is preserved for a little piece of Geocaching history. Happy caching!
Nice quick easy find.....not dog friendly due to the traffic on the road. I pass this spot on the way home from work and always thought it would be a good spot for a cache......so now it is!!
Contents when placed:
Pack of Chalk
Picture Frame
Flash cards
Cross stitch Kit
Nail Clippers
Lottery number generator
Carabiner
$5 Where's Willy for the FTF
Here's a little history on the site:
ALMONDS UNITED CHURCH
This little building, which is constructed of stone and has a slate roof, is a perfect, miniature replica of a church that once existed in that location.
Local residents may remember the Almonds United Church, which had an active congregation of 134 until it ceased operation in 1971. According to Whitby historian and Chamber of Commerce board member, Brian Winters the fact that the church was erected in about 1837, made it the second oldest church in Ontario County.
Almonds has an interesting history, to say the least. Until its closing in 1971 it was one of the few original pioneer churches still operating between Kingston and Toronto and dated back to the earliest days of the Methodist Church in Canada.
In 1837, an English squire named James Almond and his wife Mary came to Canada and donated the land where Almonds Church, was located.
At the time, there was no "town of Whitby", as of yet. But by 1830, Almonds had became the central preaching place in the Whitby circuit. In 1864, Almonds, Whitby, Brooklin, Columbus and Kedron were one circuit.
The area's population grew and a new Methodist Church was opened in the town at Mary and Centre Streets. In 1876, the Methodist Tabernacle, now St. Mark's United was opened.
More than 100 years later the congregation at Almonds amalgamated with that of St. Mark's United Church.
From: Kindred Spirits (publication of the Whitby-Oshawa Genealogical Society)
Aug. 1989
Pp 7-8