The cache is placed in Buffumville Lake Park, with the permission of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The 7.2 mile Lake Shore Trail starts in the park and extends around the shoreline of the lake. The trail is marked with blue blazes. Park rangers provide special interpretive programs on topics to include natural resources, water safety, and Dam tours. Buffumville Lake and Dam offers visitors many great activities. There is hunting, fishing and boating available. There is also a beach, picnic area with tables and BBQ pits. It has an 18 hole professional disc golf course. There is also a 3 acre island that is available for renting during the summer season.
History:
The site where the village of Buffumville was established was first developed as a mill in 1812. The 183-acre tract was situated in both Oxford and Charlton. In that year, brothers Alexander and Jonathan Nichols built a dam and sawmill on the Little River. In 1815, they built a two-story house, and in 1818, a gristmill.
Moses Buffum, a successful miller and businessman, was born July 10, 1800 at Smithfield, Rhode Island. He began a hat making business in Slatersville, Massachusetts at the age of 18, and soon became a part-owner of a satin mill in Millville, Massachusetts. He became the sole owner in 1834, and continued to enlarge his business until his mill burned in 1849. In 1852, Moses Buffum relocated to Oxford, Massachusetts and bought the mill on the Little River to manufacture cashmere (fine woolen goods). Because Mr. Buffum became a prominent and well liked business man, the community around his mill became known as Buffumville.
