WCG - Tolson's Chapel Traditional Geocache
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The Washington County GeoTrail
WCG - Tolson's Chapel
The Washington County GeoTrail (WCG) launched on Saturday, September 14, 2013. The Trail consists of over thirty-five (35) geocaches placed at points of interest all over the County. Caches will be found in National, State, County and Town parks as well as at museums, wineries, historical sites and places of natural beauty. A trackable geocoin was awarded to the first 500 geocachers who completed the Washington County Geotrail. The original allotment of Coins has been exhausted and new parameters to receive the updated Coin are below.
To be eligible for the coin, GeoCachers may download the Washington County GeoTrail passport online at www.visitHAGERSTOWN.com or pick one up in person at the Visitor Welcome Center at 6 N. Potomac Street. Completed passports may be verified on site at the above address or by mail.
Please note the following Change. Washington County GeoCoins will be available for purchase at the Visitor Welcome Center for GeoCachers who log 20 or more caches on the Washington County GeoTrail. The cost of the GeoCoin will be $10. An additional $3.50 shipping charge will apply for passports redeemed by mail. For more information about geocaching in Washington County and the full complement of local amenities, the above links are your gateway to historically beautiful Washington County!
Participating in the WCG geotrail is fun and we hope that many people join in. However, it is not a requirement for logging your find on this cache once you find the container.
WCG – Tolson's Chapel
The story of Tolson’s Chapel is really the stories of John Tolson, Hilary Watson and Jeremiah Summers, all of whom represent Antietam’s untold history. Founded after the Civil War, Tolson’s Chapel was a Methodist Church built on land donated by the Craig family. John Tolson was the church’s first minister.
The stalemate battle at Antietam and General Lee’s retreat back to Virginia was enough to give President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. However, it is altogether likely that people enslaved near Sharpsburg weren’t aware of the issue because it didn’t have any bearing on them. That is because the proclamation only applied to states that had rebelled. For the time being, slave-holding states that never seceded, like Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, could continue with the practice.
So while slavery had been abolished in the South, men like Hilary Watson remained enslaved on the Otto Farm at Antietam, harvesting grain and cutting wood for winter fires. In May of 1864, Watson was even drafted into the Union Army before his owner paid the $300 exemption fee.
On November 1, 1864, a new state constitution finally gave the 90,000 enslaved Marylanders their freedom. Most left the farms where they had been enslaved, but Watson stayed on as a laborer, eventually earning enough wages to buy a plot of land in Sharpsburg and build a log house with his wife. In 1877, he became a trustee of Tolson’s Chapel.
Jeremiah Summers also joined the congregation at Tolson’s Chapel after the war. At the time of the battle, he was 13 and enslaved on the Piper Farm where he assisted his owner’s family to flee before the invading rebels. General James Longstreet made the property his headquarters. Summers, too, was forced into Union military service before protests from his owner eventually returned him into slavery. After gaining his freedom six months later, Summers remained on the Piper farm for the rest of his life.
In the aftermath of the War, Tolson's Chapel served as a church and a Freedman's Bureau school for black residents of Sharpsburg in the years following the American Civil War. Built in 1866 and serving the black community into the 1970’s, Tolson's Chapel stands as a vivid symbol of the impact on enslaved Americans of the events surrounding the Battle and the Union victory in the Civil War.
You are seeking a regular-sized cache hidden on the chapel grounds. Please tread lightly and respectfully during your visit so that the dignity and tranquility of the cemetery is maintained. Please be especially vigilant if you have young children with you. This cache is available during daylight hours only; please do not seek this cache at night. It is requested that you approach the property from the front side (facing High Street) only. Do not attempt to access via the alley on the left side of the chapel, which can damage the landscaping and contribute to erosion of the slope. Thank you for your cooperation in this regard. Tours of the chapel interior are available by appointment. You may arrange a tour by contacting tolsons.chapel@gmail.com.
The Washington County GeoTrail wishes to Thank the Hagerstown Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau for their timely and continuing assistance with this Washington County adventure.
The WCG also wishes to thank the following geocachers who spent countless hours in planning and deploying the caches – ALs Guide, Always Lost 00, Kitakima, LPYankeefan, nomaland, Snurt, tazscouter, and tiger77aam.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq puncry, orarngu jbbqra obk.