Ozark Well Excavation Update

[MiddenMonster]

I just got back from deep in the woods after spending the afternoon doing a preliminary survey of the well. The weather has been unseasonably warm, meaning ticks and chiggers are still out but I used a quad-runner to get around and that made it a lot easier.

I haven't been able to post images, so I have to provide links to them. This image link shows the well from about 8' away, minus the foliage that covered the area in the Spring:

http://www.occupiedtexas.com/images/widewell1.jpg

Below are image links showing a shot down the well, and another showing a closeup of the well wall near the top:

http://www.occupiedtexas.com/images/downwell1.jpg
http://www.occupiedtexas.com/images/closewall1.jpg

I was surprised that the water level had dropped so much. This past spring it was right up to the top. I looped a rope through the eyehole of the drag/retrieval magnet (250lb. pull) and lowered it to the surface of the water. Pulled it up and did a rough measurement and found it to be 9' from the top of the well to the water. I then lowered it into the water until it hit bottom, lifting and dropping it to make sure it was really at the bottom and calculated a water depth of about 5'. That means the total depth of this well is probably no more than 16', and that would be accounting for sediment I might sink into. I dropped the magnet into various areas of the well about 50 times, but nothing attached to the magnet. Not even a nail. Kind of disappointing, as I was hoping for some junk to indicate that people had tossed stuff into the well over the years.

The final three image links show the walls of the well and how it was constructed:

http://www.occupiedtexas.com/images/wellwall1.jpg
http://www.occupiedtexas.com/images/wellwall2.jpg
http://www.occupiedtexas.com/images/wellwall3.jpg

On the bright side, I now know how deep the well is. I also know that if the rope breaks, anyone down in the well can scale the walls and climb out. The fact that it is rock lined and not smooth concrete also indicates to me that it is on the older side of the dating scale--at least 100 years old, and probably closer to 150. I was also able to survey the area around the well, and concluded that we should be able to build an A-frame over the opening without any problems. That sets us up so we can use pulleys to get people and equipment down into the well. I wasn't able to run a metal detector around the well this time. As I mentioned in my earlier post on this subject, there are several foundation stones about 100 yards or so up the hill, and a large diameter tree that fell over about 50' away from the foundation. I hope to get up there in the next few days, and will post links to images of both the foundation and the tree if I can.

[stoney56]

8) Best of luck and keep us posted. HH