Old County Road/Allis Cemetery
Walk an abandoned county road up to one of Plainfield’s early cemeteries. Along the way, the tour brochure helps you find three cellar holes and interpret them, find out more about stone walls, and explore an early cemetery, learning the basics of poking around in the woods. Depending on where you park, it is between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 miles up and back down a hill on an old, eroded road with a few wet spots. The public road runs up to the cemetery, running through Audubon Society land. The small map on the front of the brochure tells you where to start.
★ Start on a “hollow” dirt road lined with maples; walk between a homestead and barn past a“private” sign; walk up the hill through Audubon land with a stream on your left; after crossing the stream, walk up the road past cellar hole number 2 (tough to find, marked with a tiny blue flag); at the top of the hill, a large cellar hole (L) and an old cemetery (R).
P: From the Town Hall go west and drive down the hill (116N) for a mile. Turn left onto Prospect Street. Upper Liberty Street is your first right, about 1/4 mile in. There are two parking options, each for one car: 1. Corner of prospect and Liberty (1.2 miles to Allis Cemetery). 2. Approx. .4 mi. up Liberty Street (before the “private” sign) park in old snow plow turnaround on the left. The owner has given you permission ( .8 miles to Allis Cemetery. Walk back a little to see cellar hole # 1 on the map.)
Printing Allis: Click on the brochure (R) to download (11 MB). Use 8 1/2 x 14 (legal) size paper, landscape orientation. Turn off automatic sizing, scaling, and text orientation. Make sure map and outside read the same way. Fold in three with the map on the inside. You should be able to fold the two sides back and forth to consult map and text in turn.
Dear Gue
st — a warning and a request:
Be careful: Wear sturdy shoes. Stone walls, cellar holes and their wells, and mill foundations are breathtaking and treacherous works of art. Do not ever climb on, in, or over them. If you make a wall come down, you will have destroyed it forever and you will be hurt. Cellphone: not so much.
Protect yourself against TICKS. You know what to do. If not: CDC
Walk softly. Pack out what you pack in, but leave rocks, plans, and any older metal or glass you happen to come across for the next adventurer to find. Recent trash: please pack it out.
Respect private land. The tours take you on publicly accessible land but the lot next door may be private. In general, if it isn’t posted you may go, but you should ask if you want to you to walk across someone’s field. ~Thank you and enjoy yourself!