A cellar hole on Poland’s Forgotten Road. Submitted photo

The Poland Historical Society plans to host a site walk on Saturday, July 15, on Poland’s Forgotten Road.

People can meet at 1 p.m. at the Old School House in the Municipal Complex for a brief slide show. Following the slide show, participants will relocate to a separate location for the walking tour at around 2 p.m.

Participants should be prepared to walk approximately one and a half miles on moderately flat and well-developed trails with short, off-trail detours to check out abandoned homesteads. Be sure to dress appropriately for ticks and other biting insects. This is a particularly buggy area, so head nets should be considered.

Parking at the trail location is limited, so participants should plan to carpool if possible.

A suggested $5 donation will benefit Maine State Parks.

Participation in the site walk will be limited to the first 25 people that sign up at facebook.com/polandmainehistory. A repeat event will be held at a future date if there is sufficient interest.

In 1852, there was a well-known road connecting present day Empire Road and State Route 122 — aka Springwater Road. At that time, Springwater Road did not exist in its current layout. As a result, the older road served as one of the main routes between Poland and New Gloucester, according to a news release from Pat Moening with the society.

Although this road has no recorded name, it was home to a number of well-established farms and homesteads. By 1905, Springwater Road had been reconfigured to serve as the primary route, and by 1940 the unnamed road had been largely abandoned. There’s little evidence today of the activity that was once prevalent in this area.

Check out other upcoming area events!