Where to dig at an old country house ?

[acevillav]

Hello all, I got permission to hunt an old house in the back woods of SE Ohio. The yard is pretty big comprising of a gravel drive, sloped side yard, garden area and two old rusted posts. I'm thinking these used to be a clothes line. There are no other obvious features or land marks no large trees , rocks etc on the property. I've got just one day to hunt it so I need to know where to concentrate my efforts Any help/advice would be great. Thank you in advance !

[djm of PA]

think of the areas that would have gotten the most traffic.

path from house to outhouse
path from parking area to house
path from house to clotheslines
path in between clotheslines
path from house to any outbuildings
path from house to mailbox, if on site

Good luck, we'll be looking for your success post in daily finds area!

[djm of PA]

also, look for possible depressions in the yard where maybe large trees were taken out.

see if you can pull up any old aerials from the area as well, to see where things used to be.

[acevillav]

Thanks DJM ! I"ll be going down there in 2 weeks. I'll post pics of the finds .

[djm of PA]

not a problem, I'll be wishing you luck all the way!
The wash lines and parking areas have been my most productive when it comes to properties like you described. I'd give those two areas the most time.

I should also add, if there is an old cement sidewalk....be sure to check both sides of it the whole length....at least two swipes wide down each side.

[Thunder]

Look and see if there was a fence and check around the wooden posts. They would bury jars/cans of money in post holes.

[GrayCloud]

Not a cache site, but there will usually be Buf Nickles and Wheaties where the old mail box stood.

[goldseeker4000]

Also detect on all corners around the house. It used to be a common practice to put a pennie on ground at each corner of house for good luck. Not sure how far out from actual corner. Try at least 6 ft area on all corners. In old days family and friends mainly used the back door to inter and exit. All others used front door. If there is a chicken coup look in there. Often used as a bank. chickens gave away anyone trying to get in by make a commotion. Also if you can see where the kitchen is then look everywhere within sight of kitchen window. Hope this helps. Keep me posted if this helps, would like to see pics of what you find.

[Frankn]

If you only have one day to hunt it, make the most of it. Get there early when the sun is just rising and read the land! The low sun will sometimes shadow in old pathes that led to out buildings. The well and outhouse depressions will standout, so will any treasure sites that have sunken. Record this info in your memory for your action plan. Now remember that most activity happened in the large flat areas and usually in the rear of the house. Forget the grid system and hunt these high value areas first. Frank

[Tuberale]

Check for loose fence posts. They call 'em "post-hole caches" for a reason.

Check the chicken coop and garden area, as well as outhouse.

[Connecticut Danny]

Look under clothes lines for loose coins drop from clothes.

[mfitzy111]

and don't forget to check under the porch!

high traffic areas so far sound like the right idea...

[Connecticut Danny]

Check out the out houses, look out for the snakes.