Fresh-Air Salvation

From Dave Brigham:

This is my third and final post about Snow Hill in Dover, MA (see March 17, 2012, "Scouting a Location," and March 12, 2012, "Fire On the Mountain?").

Thanks to a mild winter, I've done a fair amount of hiking in places I've never been during my 20 years living in and around Boston. I like exploring in the woods because, while the traces of the past there may be overgrown and sometimes difficult to find, they don't get bulldozed or paved over the way that abandoned buildings and derelict train tracks in more urban areas tend to be.

You never know what you will find as you wander down a path in the woods. On my first visit to Snow Hill, after I'd taken pictures of the fire tower and Boy Scout camp, I was heading back down to my car when I decided to amble between two boulders and check out one more path.

After just 50 feet or so, I came across a break in an old stone wall.

Walking closer, I was excited to see this sign:

I was short on time, however, so I decided to turn back to the car. At first, I figured maybe the woods served as a place where members of the Dover Church simply went to reflect on life and their spirituality. But the more I thought about it, I knew that I had to return, because I figured there must be more to this site.

Sure enough, a week or so later, I pushed on beyond the sign and found the outdoor church.