Holmes Chapel Falls Found!!!!!!

[McDowra]

Well thanks to everyone for the directions, we loaded up today and found it. We walled in from rush bridge to the falls, a nice hike right in. We discovered

1. A old road that crossed the creek
2. A still site
3. A artesian spring
4. A large mushroom shaped boulder balancing on the edge of the bluff
5. Another still site
6. Holmes Chapel Falls

here are pictures     http://outdoors.webshots....7643Bxfyfx?vhost=outdoors

anyone know where Holmes Chapel is/was?

[Pully]

Good to hear and nice pictures!

I'm not sure if there was actually a chapel but Holmes Chapel Cemetery is just up the road where a road comes in from the west. It's marked "cem" on a topo map.

[Uncle Wayne]

anyone know where Holmes Chapel is/was?

The road that Pully mentioned is / was almost downtown Holmes Chapel.  There was a school, church and a fairly large "community" in the area until 20 or so years after the war of northern aggression.

In fact the old log church building at Pine Torch was once Holmes Chapel and was moved to the present location after the demise of Holmes Chapel community.  It's not exactly clear why Holmes Chapel community ceased to exist.

BTW, at the end of the road Pully mentioned is another waterfall: Coal Mine Branch.  Don't go unless we've had a big rain or it won't be there.

[Pully]

Very interesting.

uh..where is Coal Mine Branch Falls? My parents and I walked down Coal Branch Sunday and saw 5 waterfalls/cascades.

[tjs1963]

According to the carto-craft map, it's at:
34 16 24 N, 87 16 47 W

The creek empties into the Brushy Creek between miles 2 and 3, about half-way between.
I was there yesterday, parked on FS258 and walked across the logged/burned area down into the little canyon.  Very quick trip, but ugly.  Waterfall that I found at those coords was not very big in flow but I don't think it was "the" Coal Mine Branch. I didn't go further downstream because I was by myself and the canyon was a little tricky finding a place to get down to the bottom.

[Uncle Wayne]

Very interesting.

uh..where is Coal Mine Branch Falls? My parents and I walked down Coal Branch Sunday and saw 5 waterfalls/cascades.

If you walk the branch until it falls off a boxed in canyon, maybe 12 or 15 ' high, you've found Coal Mine Branch Falls.  Most of the times it's only a small trickle of a falls.  I'll see if I have a picture and post it.


http://www.alatrails.com/...10275/thumb_P2165554a.JPG

[Pully]

Thanks tjs1963 and Uncle Wayne. I thought the falls would be on Coal Branch and I did find some.

Also, I found a 30' waterfall about 3/4 a mile down the road across from Pine Torch Church. It is on the side of the road. 34.3280918, -87.287965

[toph]

Here's Coal Mine Branch with water:

Holmes Chapel Falls Found!!!!!!

[McDowra]

Nice picture, Holmes Chapel and Coal Mine Falls lead me to believe that the people there made a living mining perhaps?