2021-06-25: Searching for Lake Erie Lighthouses in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio

Welcome back to our AwayWeGo's Adventure blog. While the motorhome was getting some work done in Indiana, my wife, her granddaughter and I took a road trip to Connecticut and back in the Jeep. For todays leg of our travel journey we added lighthouses to our "to-do" list as well as geocaching counties. So climb aboard the GeoJeep and let's go for a drive... 

Our first stop was along the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County and the town of Dunkirk, New York. The St Hyacinth Cemetery (GC4013R) has over 4,000 internments dating back to 1880. Land was purchased for the St Hyacinth Parish in 1875 and the newly completed church dedicated in 1876. This land wasn't purchased until 1902 to become the church cemetery. The cemetery chapel was blessed in 1942.

On the north side of Dunkirk jutting out into Lake Erie is Point Gratiot. The Dunkirk Lighthouse (GC4KMHE) and Victorian keepers residence was constructed during 1875-76 to replaced an eroding first light from 1827. Bricks from the original keepers house was used for the foundation in building the new house. When the cylindrical light tower was moved next to the house, a square walled tower was constructed around it to better conform to the aesthetics of the house.

Driving down NY-5 along the lakefront, we arrived in the town of Barcelona for our next set of geocaches and another lighthouse. We first stopped by the Barcelona Harbor Pier. Took a nice look around, took some photos of the water, and grabbed a geocache here too (GC1RMBW).

Off the edge of the pier near the road stands the Barcelona Lighthouse and Keepers Residence (GC1RMBW, GC60BK0). The 40-foot tall Barcelona Lighthouse was constructed in 1829. It was the first natural gas lighthouse in the country and was part of the Federal Lighthouse System up until 1859. From then it had been under several private ownerships over the years until the early 2000's when it became a state historical site.

Moving down into Erie County, Pennsylvania, we visited our next lighthouse and geocache. Located on the shores of Presque Isle Bay on Lake Erie is the "Land Lighthouse." The 49-foot tall sandstone tower was constructed in 1866-67. There is an earthcache here due to the fossils that can be found in the sandstone (GC93AYG). This was the third lighthouse to be constructed at this location due to the previous two having structural instabilities. The light was in use until 1899.

A few blocks away is Dobbins Landing named after Captain Daniel Dobbins, an Erie Pioneer and Mariner who sailed the Great Lakes as a merchant ship master and naval officer. As we walked towards the Bicentennial Tower we got to watch a little pirate show taking place off the pier. The Scallywags Pirate Adventure Show is a tourist sightseeing ship on Lake Erie which had a pirate navigating a small dingy trying to cause trouble. This made for an entertaining few moments for those on board.

Located at the end of Dobbins Landing stands the Bicentennial Tower Observation Deck (GC890ME). It was built in 1996 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the city of Erie. The top observation deck stands 138 feet above Presque Isle Bay and provides spectacular 360 degree views up to 27 miles on a clear day.

Also nearby is the Erie Cemetery. We stopped by there before leaving town to attempt a Geocaching Adventure Lab (AL). Of the 40,000+ internments here I want to highlight this one. The Brown Mausoleum is more commonly known as "The Vampire Crypt." 

Local folklore says that a Romanian businessman was living inside the crypt. After his death of consumption, weird things began happening around Erie. The cemetery groundskeeper discovered that the man was living inside this crypt. The vault was then burned, the door chained, and the named chiseled off.

Moving over into Ohio, we continued our geocaching adventure along the Great Lakes. The first geocache was a quick parking lot park and grab cache (GC3NNRY) located in Ashtabula County.

The next two were in Lake County. The geocaches are located in the North Madison Cemetery (GC8JZDC, GC4CT2Z). According to the Find-A-Grave website, there are more than 2400+ internments dating back to 1811. In the midst of all the graves is the old maintenance shed. It looks kinda spooky itself.

It was getting late in the day so I found two more quick geocaches to pick up two more counties. The first was in the Mount Sinai Cemetery in Cuyahoga County (GCTNKW). There were over 2000 internments but I just found the geocache and moved on to the next. The final one was a light post cache in Geauga County (GC5FZGR).

That's it for today. Tomorrow we finish up Ohio and back into Indiana. Until then...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. And there's also my main website at AwayWeGo.US for the complete index of my traveling adventures going back to 2005. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2020-09-20: Walking Around the Historical Augusta, Georgia and Finding a Few Geocaches

On this second day of our roadtrip, we started out in Augusta, Georgia. We've passed through this city many times but never really taken the time to explore it. So this morning before we continued the rest of our drive up to the RV park in North Carolina, we spent some time checking out the historical riverfront area of Augusta. So let's take a walk through this historic community.

Founded in 1736 on the western bank of the Savannah River, Augusta, Georgia became the second town of the 13th British colony. General James Edward Oglethorpe, the colony’s founder, ordered the settlement and chose its location at the head of navigation of the Savannah River below the shoals created by the fall line. Oglethorpe’s vision was to establish an interior trading post for purchasing furs and other commodities from Native Americans to compete with New Savannah Town, a small outpost on the South Carolina side of the river.

Augusta thrived as a trading post from the beginning, with several of the South Carolina traders moving their base of operations to the new settlement. By 1739 a fort was completed, and the official surveyor of the colony, Noble Jones, laid out the town. Its colonial plan was similar, but not as elaborate as the one used in Savannah. Augusta’s plan focused on one large square or plaza and was four streets deep and three streets wide. Fort Augusta was adjacent to the 40 town lots on the west side near the river. Augusta named two of its original streets for Georgia’s colonial governors: Reynolds Street for John Reynolds, and Ellis Street for Henry Ellis. These streets are still prominent features of the Downtown Augusta, Broad Street, and Pinched Gut Historic Districts.

As traders populated the town, they brought their wives and began to have children. The desire for a more civilized atmosphere dictated the need for a church. As a British colony, Georgia petitioned the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel for a minister after constructing a church building in 1749. The first minister, the Reverend Jonathan Copp, arrived in 1751 and began conducting services according to the rites of the Church of England. After Georgia’s division into parishes in 1756, the Augusta District fell into St. Paul’s Parish, and the Augusta church became known as St. Paul’s Church (GC7B87M).

The brick pavers above layout the site of the first church in Augusta in 1749. The first church was destroyed during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). When rebuilt, the church became part of Fort Cornwallis until its destruction in 1781, in the Second Siege of Augusta, during the Revolutionary War. The Trustees of the Academy of Richmond rebuilt the third church on this property in 1789. This church was where the First Presbyterian Church was founded in 1804. Later, the congregation would build a new church on Telfair Street and move in, in 1812. The Episcopalian congregation would regain ownership in 1818. Robert Lund designed a new church which was completed and consecrated in 1821. The congregation grew and built a church school in 1843, with an orphanage added in the 1850's. During the Civil War, the property served as a hospital for the Confederacy.

The Great Augusta Fire of 1916 burned the fourth church, along with over 30 blocks of downtown Augusta and Olde Town. Fortunately, they were able to save some of the church furniture. Services continued to be held under a tent and at the courthouse until a new home could be built. The fifth church is the one we see here today. The exterior was designed to resemble church number four, Federal Style. The interior was redesigned in the Georgian style. The baptismal font is from the first church and many items rescued from the fire, from the fourth church, are still in use here today.

According to the Find-A-Grave website, there are 166 burials scattered about on the St Paul's Church graveyard (GC1PA14) dating back to 1754. The cemetery is still used today though not as often as I'm sure even a small burial plot is prime real estate and very expensive.

After the Revolution Augusta became the temporary capital of the new state of Georgia between 1786 and 1795, and many of the leaders of the government moved to the town. One of the most notable was George Walton, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, who built his home, Meadow Garden, on what was then the outskirts of town. The other of Georgia's Declaration of Independence signers, Colonel William Few Jr, was buried at the St Paul's Cemetery in 1828.

The town continued to grow in size and population governed by a group of Trustees of the Academy of Richmond County. In 1791 they added Telfair Street, named for Georgia Governor Edward Telfair. Telfair Street today is another major artery through the Augusta Downtown and Pinched Gut Historic Districts. President George Washington’s visit in 1791 was a highlight of this period. Legend has it that Augustans planted the large ginkgo tree in his honor at the proposed site of the Richmond County Courthouse, constructed in 1801 and now known as the Old Government House. The Trustees of the Academy built a new school building in 1802, the old Academy of Richmond County.

As Georgia expanded westward and the states of Alabama and Mississippi attracted many of its prosperous planters, Augusta’s economy began to stagnate. The Charleston and Hamburg Railroad in South Carolina reached a point directly across the Savannah River from the heart of downtown Augusta in 1832. In 1833 the Georgia Railroad, chartered in Athens, Georgia, began building westward from Augusta toward a yet unnamed settlement that would eventually become Atlanta.

The railroad did not ensure Augusta’s future, as the tug on Americans to move westward grew ever stronger, but other factors had a positive impact on the city. Spurred by the invention in 1793 of the cotton gin, local farmers grew upland cotton in the surrounding countryside making Augusta the center of a large inland cotton market.

Augusta served as a major center of the Confederacy, providing cotton goods, shoes, guns, munitions, food, and many other commodities. In addition, the city was a religious center of the South hosting meetings for the formation of both the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America at St. Paul’s Church, and the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States at First Presbyterian Church. The meeting took place there at the invitation of its pastor, Reverend Joseph Ruggles Wilson, who lived with his family in the parsonage, the Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home.

Next door to the future President’s home was the parsonage of First Christian Church, home of future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph R. Lamar. Wilson and Lamar, both sons of prominent Augusta pastors, were best friends as children.

Following the Civil War, Augusta’s economy struggled but rebounded with the enlargement and expansion of the Augusta Canal in 1875. Several large new cotton mills were built along its banks. As the old city continued to expand, most religious denominations realized the need to establish a second congregation in the western end of the city, and often a third or fourth in the suburban areas. With the expansion of the Augusta Canal, the city was once again a thriving center of a cotton economy. Cotton warehouses lined Reynolds Street between St. Paul’s Church on the east and 9th Street on the west.

Augusta's Imperial Theatre began in 1917 as a vaudeville showcase named The Wells Theatre. On Sunday, October 6, 1918, over 3,000 cases of Spanish Flu were reported. With the death of 52 servicemen from nearby Fort Gordon, the city announced the closure of all public venues, including the theatre. The quarantine began October 7, and during this time Jake Wells encountered great financial difficulties. He sold The Wells to Lynch Enterprises. On November 27, 1918, shortly after the sell, the quarantine is lifted and the theatre opened two weeks later. The Wells Theatre's was soon changed to The Imperial Theatre. Throughout the early 1900's the theatre continued to provide the city of Augusta and the surrounding area with great entertainment. In 1929, as vaudevillian acts decreased in popularity and motion pictures enjoyed meteoric success, Miller decided to renovate the Imperial into a full-time movie house in the popular art deco style. Decades later due to the decline of the downtown area, the Imperial continued as a film theatre until it closed in 1981. In 1985 it was recognized for its architectural significance and reopened as a performing arts venue with the help of local performing arts groups like the Augusta Ballet and the Augusta Players.

Saw this sign on another business in the historic district. I'm don't think there is a long history to research here, but I liked the appropriate name for the bar and thought I'd share it with you.

In 2005, a statue was dedicated in the historic district and James Brown Plaza in honor of the "Godfather of Soul" (GC11BDX). Born in South Carolina in 1933, the family moved to Augusta when he was five years old. He began singing in talent shows as a young child, first appearing at Augusta's Lenox Theater in 1944. As a singer, songwriter, musician and one-of-a-kind performer, James Brown has thrilled millions around the world with his hit recordings and electrifying performances. 

While there is much more that can be said of Augusta's history and many more places to see, we still have a long drive ahead of us to the RV park in North Carolina. So let us get back on the road for now. Until the next time...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using you favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR and Instagram. These all link directly to my profile. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2020-03-28: Roadtrip Day 2: Driving Through Louisiana and into Mississippi on the way to Georgia

One thing I like about driving the backroads and byways on a roadtrip is that you never know what you're gonna see around the next corner. Whether it be a scenic overlook, a piece of history, or just something so crazy funny that it requires you to turn around for another look and capture it with a photo. Todays drive had something for everyone. So there's a lot to see now let's get rolling...

After waking up early in Shreveport, Louisiana and going for breakfast, I grabbed a quick urban geocache that was close by (GC7G3XD).

On the way to my next geocache, I passed this old church building. The sign out front said Antioch Baptist Church. It doesn't look like this facility has been used in many years. In preparing to write this blog post, I spent a few hours trying to research some history but kept coming up empty. I can't find anything on this old church.

So I arrive at the next geocache (GC1XVN5) which was just a simple and quick roadside cache to add a new county into the finds list. Upon arriving though and seeing the sign, I guess they take their "No Trespassing" pretty serious! I found the cache quick and got myself outta there!

After another quick roadside geocache (GC7QJ0X), I passed by these two old abandoned houses that were just slowly decaying and falling apart. I'm always curious as to what happened with these homes...

...especially this second house. It looked like it would have been a house to envy back in the day. Come to find out that it is called the Garland House. It was built in 1902 and placed on the National Register in 1994. It is a Queen Anne Revival design. This one is in great need of reviving.

Continuing eastbound on Hwy 2, the next geocache was at the Corney Creek Calaboose (GC26WWQ). A calaboose is a tiny jail. This calaboose in the town of Bernice, LA was built in 1902. The town of Bernice was established in 1899 as a sawmill town after Captain C.C. Henderson built the Arkansas Southern Railroad.

This next stop was rather sad. On the north side of Bernice is the old Mount Olive Cemetery (GC26HGV). This neglected forgotten cemetery contains between 40-50 burials dating as far back as 1860. However, I only saw less than 10 headstones in all this overgrowth. Some of the locals need to come out here and clean this cemetery up.

Still following State Highway 2 eastbound to pickup caches in these northern parishes, my next stop is an earthcache and a traditional cache at Elgin Springs (GC20PEP, GCJ4CV). It would have been a quick roadside stop, but I had trouble finding the traditional cache and had to DNF it. As for the earthcache, I got what I needed to answer the questions to log a find. No photos here since it really isn't much to see here. Not exactly what you picture in your mind when you think of natural springs.

To make up for the lack of photos at the springs, I was able to capture two great old car pics as an unexpected surprise. This one below of a 1920's sedan just rusting away among the trees along the highway. And the more humorous one I opened with at the top of the page.

These next two were just quick roadside park and grabs (GC73X26, GC23FEX).

Our next stop was a really cool piece of history in Oak Grove, LA. The Fiske Theatre (GC29ZM9) was first opened in April 1928 and at that time was the premier state of the art movie cinemas in Northeast Louisiana. It was owned and operated by the late Donald Fiske of Oak Grove. The Fiske Theatre was a two level cinema with a first floor that seated 500 people and a balcony that seats 250, as well as a cry room located on the back of the first floor for mothers with small children.

The Fiske Theatre was rebuilt in 1950 and relocated from just down main street to it's current location, and was operated continuously by the Fiske Family until 1987 as a first run cinema. It looks just about the same now as it did in the 1950's. In 1987 as Mr. Fiske's health began to fail him, the theatre was donated to the West Carroll Chamber of Commerce where it has been used mainly for gospel music concerts and other community events since then.

The theatre is in very good condition thanks to the hard work of the chamber volunteers and numerous grants for upkeep from the Louisiana State Legislature. After a two-month renovation period in the fall of 2008, the Fiske Theatre returned as a first run movie theatre on December 15, 2008 with a showing of "Fireproof". The theater is run by volunteers who share a passion for the preservation of this historic movie theater. Any proceeds go to the upkeep of this terrific piece of Americana. At the time of our visit to the Fiske Theatre was closed as the pandemic was just beginning to spread.

Next up was a geocache at the Cotton Museum (GC1CN8D). The Louisiana State Cotton Museum in Lake Providence provides a great introduction to one of Louisiana’s major agricultural crops, and certainly the one for which the Delta area is best known. Its main gallery features an extensive set of interpretive exhibits, including life-sized dioramas, farming equipment, a re-created juke joint and more, all packed into a replica gin house (where cotton fiber was ginned, or separated from the seed).

Also on the grounds of the museum is an impressive array of old plantation buildings, such as a sharecropper’s cabin, a schoolhouse, and a small chapel. And of course an old outhouse where the cache was hidden inside the business deposit area.

One more quick roadside geocache in the town of Transylvania (GC1CN8Z) along with the above museum are two caches for the East Carroll Parish completing the northern counties in Louisiana.

Now we face the Mississippi River and need to cross over. Most would go south to I-20 and cross over into Vicksburg. Been there, done that, and already have those counties. So I turn north into Arkansas. I stop for two quick geocaches along US-65 for Chicot County (GC2QTFT, GC2R0NT). Then took US-278 to cross the great river.

Passing through Greenville, Mississippi, I spotted this riverboat and stopped for a quick photo.

The next few stops were part of the Mississippi Blues Trail. In the small town of Holly Ridge you'll find the final resting place of three bluesmen (GC15CJ1). Charley Patton (1891 - 1934) was the most influencing figure in the pioneering era of the Delta Blues. He helped define not only the musical genre but also the image and lifestyle of the rambling Mississippi bluesman. He roamed the Delta using Dockery as his most recent base, and lived his final year in Holly Ridge. Patton and blues singers Willie James Foster (1921 - 2000) and Asie Payton (1937 - 1997) are buried in the Holly Ridge Cemetery.

In the next town of Indianola, MS, I found the B.B. King Corner (GC4MZKG). It was on this corner, when Riley B. King was just a young man of 17, that locals first heard the musician destined to become the "King of the Blues." On June 6, 1980, BB King placed his handprints and signature here in the sidewalk to the left of the guitar.

Our last geocache of the day was at the Indianola City Cemetery (GC30XD5). This is a large well maintained cemetery with over 3,000 interments.

We ended the day in Greenwood, MS, a little more than 300 miles after we started. I picked up some new counties and parishes to fill the map. And we saw a lot of great roadside attractions, planned and a few surprises too. Tomorrow is another day and we still have a long way to go and a lot to see. I hope you come back and join us. See ya next time...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using you favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, and Instagram. These all link directly to my profile. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2019-06-20: Roadtrip Back to Texas Day 3 Geocaching in Mississippi With Elvis, Finding Abandoned Churches, Historic Theater, And More.

Welcome back to Day 3 of my geocaching roadtrip back to Texas. Today I hope to finish up Alabama and complete my way across Mississippi, perhaps even into Louisiana. But we'll just have to see. I'm still pretty tired after yesterdays long geocaching adventure. The sun is just coming up, we gotta get started. Grab your gear and a cup of coffee, the GeoJeep is waiting!

Checking out of the hotel in Scottsboro, I quickly make my way up to Huntsville and jump on I-565. Breezing through Madison County, since I already had it, I stop for a quick guardrail park and grab geocache for Limestone County (GC1TFEH). Crossing the Tennessee River into Decatur, I quickly exit the highway into a Jack-in-the-Box for breakfast and a parking lot cache to pickup Morgan County (GC81F3J). In Lawrence County I stopped for two more quick finds, one in a parking lot (GC5QYQ5) and the other a puzzle in a cemetery (GC32AXA). I'm in such a hurry mode trying to put miles behind me I forgot to take pictures! Entering Franklyn County I stop at the first roadside geocache along Hwy 24 near this historical marker for the town of Newburg (GC5T9K7).

Crossing the state line into Mississippi, my first county find was in Tishomingo County at the Locust Tree Cemetery (GC8028T). Once again I forgot a photo! Next door in Prentiss County, I stopped at the Marietta Volunteer Fire Department for another quick geocache (GC290WG).

Driving down the Natchez Trace Parkway into Lee County, I stop at the Twentymile Bottom scenic pull-off for a virtual geocache (GC8F1D). The historical marker there reads: "Twentymile Bottom, now cultivated, was typical of the many low areas along streams through which the Natchez Trace passed. In 1812 Rev?? stopped at Old Factors Stand, near this bottom, and wrote this account of bottomland travel:"

"I have this day swam my horse 5 times, bridged one creek, forded several others, besides the swamp we had to wade through. At night we had a shower of rain - took up my usual lodging on the ground in company with several ??."

I replaced the answers to the questions of the virtual cache so as not to give them away. I do leave you with this scenic view photo from atop the bottom!

In the center of Lee County you'll find Tupelo, MS. Whenever I hear of Tupelo I think of two things: 1) the home of wino philosopher Mudbone, a created character and alter-ego of Richard Pryor and 2) the birthplace of Elvis Presley. While you can't pay a visit to Mudbone's home, you can visit Elvis's birthplace. Plus there's also a geocache there (GC2YJEY).

At the Elvis Birthplace, Chapel, Museum and Park, you'll find the small 2-room house built by his father, grandfather, and uncle. The Presley family didn't have much and they had to move out of this house when Elvis was just a few years old for lack of payment. They left Tupelo when Elvis was 13 years old. There's even a replica of a typical outhouse found in a poor southern town. Usually shared by multiple houses along the street and more of a public bathroom.

One of many statues and displays, this one depicts the young Elvis with his guitar along with the older entertainer and showman wearing his famous cape.

The original Assembly of God Church building, moved to this museum site, is where the Presley family attended church. It was here where Elvis learned to play the guitar and cultivate his Southern Gospel heritage.

Continuing westbound along US-278 into Pontotoc County, I made another quick parking lot cache find (GC2Z18N). Then for Lafayette County, I stopped for the Midway Cemetery cache (GCHV91) east of Oxford. A quick look around at the headstones and there was one grave that stood out for a fallen soldier.

Making my way across the state, Panola County was next up. And for a few minutes I became a Panolian as I looked for the geocache hidden at the local newspaper (GC13T4F).

Arriving in Quitman County I stopped for a couple of geocaches that were placed on private property. These homeowners were all too happy to open up their front yard to geocachers (GC478T5) and share their little village they created. There's a couple of cabins that are full size and some not quite sized. Just a whole bunch of fun creative stuff.

Continuing westbound on US-278 and still in Quitman County but on the way to the next, I caught a glimpse of an old abandoned church with a graveyard out the corner of my eye just calling out to me causing me to make a u-turn and explore further. After I parked I checked my phone and there just happened to be a geocache hidden there also! (GC3NGGM) But as luck would have it, there were some DNF's and I didn't have any success in finding it either. But I did walk away happy still because I love finding these old abandoned places.

After spending a couple of hours researching for this blog post, all I was able to come up with is that it was called the Pawpaw Church and Cemetery. There is also a Pawpaw Cemetery to the west in Clarksdale. These were predominately black cemeteries and reading many old newspaper articles, they had fallen into neglect. While the church itself has long been abandoned, it appears as though the graveyard has been taken care of recently.

Sadly I regret now only taking a photo of one headstone. The findagrave website only shows a few listings for this cemetery and no photos at all. The one headstone I did photograph wasn't even listed. So I added the name, dates, and the pic. I think I'm gonna want to go back and take more pictures.

I also found out that the "pawpaw" refers to the pawpaw fruit tree in the area. Similar to an apple or pear, but it has a vanilla taste to it. Supposed to be delicious. You won't find it at your local produce stand because it doesn't stay ripe very long. Therefore it usually just grows in the wild and has to be eaten right off the tree in the fall.

Next up in Coahoma County was another of the Mississippi Blues Trail historical markers and a cache (GC2KDJ6). Rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm & blues pioneer Ike Turner began his career playing blues and boogie-woogie piano in Clarksdale. Turner was born less than a mile southwest of this site, at 304 Washington Avenue in the Riverton neighborhood, on November 5, 1931. In his pre-teen years he got a job here at the Hotel Alcazar, where he operated the elevator and did janitorial work. Turner later rose to fame as a deejay, producer, and leader of the Kings of Rhythm band and the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

What caught my eye was the old building and the Paramount Theater sign across the street. The original sign above it carved in stone says Theatre Marion. A December 1918 newspaper stated that the "Marion Theatre is one of the largest and most handsome in the state, having only recently been completed." The theater featured vaudeville shows and traveling productions. "Glorious Betsy" was the first talking picture shown there in November 22, 1928. The Paramount Theater, as it became known by then, had closed in the mid-70's. The facade with the sign actually leads to the theater entrance in the alley to either the building on the left or out of frame to the right, which is the actual theater / auditorium and dressing rooms.

Now somebody done left the water running and there's this big river flowing by in my way going westbound. Looks like I'm gonna have to drive south to find a bridge to cross this Mighty Mississippi!

Still following US-278, I enter into Bolivar County and a tiny town called Alligator, MS. A quick roadside guardrail cache (GC4FAC3) for the county and I keep moving. Then I jump over to the backroad of MS Hwy-1 which runs parallel and closer to the river. I spot another old church north of Rosedale and it also has a geocache hidden nearby. The old country church (GC32W1N) is called Saint Paul's Church Complete. And that is about all the information I can find on it!

Down and to the east of Rosedale I go to check out this old cemetery and find another cache (GC34HYD). At New Hope Cemetery there are just over 100 interments dating as far back as 4-year old Willie Johnson in 1903.

From there I continued south on MS-1 for quick roadside park and grab caches in Washington County (GC2VYC1), Issaquena County (GC2TT6V), and Sharkey County (GC3936F) for the last in Mississippi. By now the sun has set but I continue on down to a hotel in Vicksburg for the night. That was it for this Day 3 Thursday.

I'm gonna go ahead and include Day 4 Friday here as the last paragraph. I drove nearly 500 miles in 9 hours through Louisiana all the way to Killeen, Texas. Aside for gas and food, I only made 2 geocaching stops. The first was at the Clear Creek Chapel and Cemetery for Red River Parrish (GC1Z8N1). The other was at the Prude Cemetery for De Soto County (GC2JFKA).

Thank you for joining me. I really do appreciate the company on these long roadtrips. Please feel free to share these stories with your family and friends. You can follow and share me through these links to the various social media platforms:  Facebook,  MeWe,  Parler,  Gab,  Twitter,  Instagram,  MAGAbook,  and  Reddit. Follow us through any or all of these platforms and whichever you choose, please leave your comments. We'd love to hear from you and it encourages us to continue sharing our adventures.