New permission, old cemetery. How would you approach this area?

[TrpnBils]

I am not asking about hunting the cemetery. I am asking about how to interpret a potential home site or recreation site in which a cemetery happens to be the only thing left.

Got permission at a site yesterday that might hold some promise. A coworker told me about an area on some property he has been deer hunting for the past 25 years and got me in touch with the owner. Basically it's an old, Civil War era cemetery with about ten or twelve marked graves in the middle of the woods on top of a hill not near anything. There's a small dirt access road that goes in the general vicinity of this cemetery, but it's not like it goes TO it, meaning I think it was added later on after the cemetery was forgotten. I haven't been there yet, but I get the impression that it may have been a family cemetery because of the size and because I don't think there was ever a church anywhere nearby.

How far away would any houses likely have been? There is an 1885 house on the property but it's a good half mile away, and the cemetery predates it by a bit. I THINK there may have been a previous house adjacent to the one that's there, but again, it's half a mile away, which makes me wonder if there's another site I haven't found yet.

 

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[tlane38003]

I would keep at least a few hundred feet from the headstones let then rip their is probly an old horse trail and a place where they where tied up good luck sounds like a nice place to hunt

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[smokeythecat]

Yes, 100 feet is a good rule. There's laws against everything these days. Appearances is reality. Cemetery wouldn't be of interest anyway. Try to find houses and roads.

 

[Beezly]

I wouldnt search in the cemetery, its just bad image for the detecting community. Maybe search around the cemetery borders. Sounds like a good permission to score though!

 

[TrpnBils]

Guys - calm down. I'm not digging up bodies here. I'm asking about handling a cemetery SITE...as in, were there typically homes a certain distance away, were there any traditions common to that time period that would lead you to believe there would have been a picnic site or something nearby like were common for bigger cemeteries, etc. Nobody just puts a random cemetery way out in the middle of nowhere with nothing else around. I'm trying to figure out how to interpret the site given that the cemetery is the only thing left.

 

[GopherDaGold]

Guys - calm down. I'm not digging up bodies here..

I saw no replies to your inquiry that warranted that reaction.

 

[TrpnBils]

I saw no replies to your inquiry that warranted that reaction.

When I've got 3 guys telling me specifically don't dig in the cemetery it tells me my question was misinterpreted. Thanks for your input.

 

[dsdigger]

I am thinking of the few family cemeteries that I have seen in the Valley here and down in SW VA where my wife is from and those vary in distance from the homes from 100 ft to over two football fields away. Most are are farms and situated back from main roadways near larger farms. I can think of one very old one that is close to the old farm house with no fence and is just off by itself. Another is down next to some in-laws that bought farm property, his mother bought the farm house, barns and most of the land but the original family kept the family cemetary which sits down from the house and barns on a small rise with a post and rail surround added maybe 50 years ago. It is in disrepair but still there. The house for your cemetary might be found by looking at possible aerial photos (if they exist), Google Earth of the area and look for other roads and openings in the woods or maybe check county records to see if one did exist there. The house you mentioned may be it. If it is part of you allowed hunt, that sounds promising too. Good Luck!

 

[jeff of pa]

Guys - calm down. I'm not digging up bodies here. I'm asking about handling a cemetery SITE...as in, were there typically homes a certain distance away, were there any traditions common to that time period that would lead you to believe there would have been a picnic site or something nearby like were common for bigger cemeteries, etc. Nobody just puts a random cemetery way out in the middle of nowhere with nothing else around. I'm trying to figure out how to interpret the site given that the cemetery is the only thing left.

First off No Judgements or Warnings from Me.
& I don't feel I need to Be your Second Father or conscience
Your an Adult I'm Sure


This Cemetery is about a Mile away from town & Up on top of a Mountain.



and Yes I know of at Least one small cemetery in woods that is too far up a Mountain for me to walk
so I've never seen it Personally.

Occasionally people were Buried away from everyone for some reason.
I also know of a public Swimming Pool created in a Creek, right Next to Catholic Cemetery.
The Cemetery was also used as A gambling Site. and since the kids & adults Swam in the Pool,
they Probably Picnicked also.





Cemeteries also existed in peoples Yards.

and were Connected to Schools too.

Anything is Possible.

That Said, Your going to need to do some Research to find out where the Closest homes, school, church
were . if you know the county and township, you should be able to find that info out online or
at a local library or hysterical society .

Try

F.W. Beers & Co, county name, Twp Name

You just may find a Land Ownership map for the 1860's / 1870's online
like this with everything Marked

 

[Oddjob]

I saw no replies to your inquiry that warranted that reaction.

Wow, then if you missed that please tell us all where you MD at as well.

Guys - calm down. I'm not digging up bodies here. I'm asking about handling a cemetery SITE...as in, were there typically homes a certain distance away, were there any traditions common to that time period that would lead you to believe there would have been a picnic site or something nearby like were common for bigger cemeteries, etc. Nobody just puts a random cemetery way out in the middle of nowhere with nothing else around. I'm trying to figure out how to interpret the site given that the cemetery is the only thing left.

I would have a look and see if you can get dates from the head stones to give you an idea on property records. See what you can pull up through the records and go from there.

Speaking in general there could have been a small community back there and that was part of an old church. Also a farm site as well. If it was part of an old chapel then surely within 100 to 300 feet you should find signs of something. If it was an old farm, then who knows, our family grave site on our ranch sits about a mile away from the main structures, but the neighbour to another ranch of ours has theirs sitting within 300 feet or the main house.

If you have permission and do not want to invest in records then I would say just start griddling the area, start on the side that goes up hill or a slope, string it off about 100X100 and go from there. Start scanning your lanes, over lap them and cross over, nice an slow & steady.

How long did you get permission fr?

 

[TrpnBils]

First off No Judgements or Warnings from Me.
& I don't feel I need to Be your Second Father or conscience
Your an Adult I'm Sure


This Cemetery is about a Mile away from town & Up on top of a Mountain.

View attachment 1443865

and Yes I know of at Least one small cemetery in woods that is too far up a Mountain for me to walk
so I've never seen it Personally.

Occasionally people were Buried away from everyone for some reason.
I also know of a public Swimming Pool created in a Creek, right Next to Catholic Cemetery.
The Cemetery was also used as A gambling Site. and since the kids & adults Swam in the Pool,
they Probably Picnicked also.


View attachment 1443874


Cemeteries also existed in peoples Yards.

and were Connected to Schools too.

Anything is Possible.

That Said, Your going to need to do some Research to find out where the Closest homes, school, church
were . if you know the county and township, you should be able to find that info out online or
at a local library or hysterical society .

Try

F.W. Beers & Co, county name, Twp Name

You just may find a Land Ownership map for the 1860's / 1870's online
like this with everything Marked

View attachment 1443882

Sounds like it's a shot in the dark at finding the house site. I feel like there should have been a home associated with it, but it might not be the one that's on the property now simply because it's not old enough. Who knows.... this place is only about 15 minutes from my house, so I can use a lot of the same references and resources I have been using locally. It's a shame, the historical society for our county exists, but they have next to nothing prior to the Civil War (which is odd considering the area has been inhabited since the early 1700s European immigrants settled here).

Wow, then if you missed that please tell us all where you MD at as well.



I would have a look and see if you can get dates from the head stones to give you an idea on property records. See what you can pull up through the records and go from there.

Speaking in general there could have been a small community back there and that was part of an old church. Also a farm site as well. If it was part of an old chapel then surely within 100 to 300 feet you should find signs of something. If it was an old farm, then who knows, our family grave site on our ranch sits about a mile away from the main structures, but the neighbour to another ranch of ours has theirs sitting within 300 feet or the main house.

If you have permission and do not want to invest in records then I would say just start griddling the area, start on the side that goes up hill or a slope, string it off about 100X100 and go from there. Start scanning your lanes, over lap them and cross over, nice an slow & steady.

How long did you get permission fr?

Permission is pretty much open-ended other than hunting season. The guy lives out of town and said it's cool with him if we go up there periodically to look around. Haven't asked him about the house yet...but it's vacant and maintained, so I bet I can get permission there too.

 

[Oddjob]

Now this is exactly why I come here, people always ready to help where they can.

First off No Judgements or Warnings from Me.
& I don't feel I need to Be your Second Father or conscience
Your an Adult I'm Sure


This Cemetery is about a Mile away from town & Up on top of a Mountain.

View attachment 1443865

and Yes I know of at Least one small cemetery in woods that is too far up a Mountain for me to walk
so I've never seen it Personally.

Occasionally people were Buried away from everyone for some reason.
I also know of a public Swimming Pool created in a Creek, right Next to Catholic Cemetery.
The Cemetery was also used as A gambling Site. and since the kids & adults Swam in the Pool,
they Probably Picnicked also.


View attachment 1443874


Cemeteries also existed in peoples Yards.

and were Connected to Schools too.

Anything is Possible.

That Said, Your going to need to do some Research to find out where the Closest homes, school, church
were . if you know the county and township, you should be able to find that info out online or
at a local library or hysterical society .

Try

F.W. Beers & Co, county name, Twp Name

You just may find a Land Ownership map for the 1860's / 1870's online
like this with everything Marked

View attachment 1443882

 

[TrpnBils]

Also should mention that the Beers Atlases look like a fantastic resource, but I'm just a little too far south for them. I'm in eastern WV, so we've got Maryland right north of us and Virginia right south of us which are both covered, but we aren't. When I get back so far I have to look at Virginia maps too because we were originally part of it, but as far as those atlases go we're off the map, so to speak.

 

[Primus Palus]

I wouldn't have asked for permission because I wouldn't hunt a cemetery. This has been discussed in length in another thread.

But housing away from it is fair game.

 

[TrpnBils]

I wouldn't have asked for permission because I wouldn't hunt a cemetery. This has been discussed in length in another thread.

But housing away from it is fair game.

It sure has, and that I'm not hunting the cemetery was also discussed at length earlier in this one.

 

[Primus Palus]

It sure has, and that I'm not hunting the cemetery was also discussed at length earlier in this one.

Well unfortunately you poorly worded the title of the thread and beginning content of the thread. Implying that you'd like to know how to approach the cemetery. The house a half mile away isn't at all associated to the cemetery so I would have left that out all together. Hunt the house, hunt around it, don't go near the cemetery. Pretty simple.

 

[TrpnBils]

Well unfortunately you poorly worded the title of the thread and beginning content of the thread. Implying that you'd like to know how to approach the cemetery. The house a half mile away isn't at all associated to the cemetery so I would have left that out all together. Hunt the house, hunt around it, don't go near the cemetery. Pretty simple.

Thank you for your helpful input.

 

[TrpnBils]

FYI - here's an aerial of the property I'm looking at. The house is actually a little closer than I thought at about a third of a mile. I have a feeling, based on the lay of the land, that there may have been another house initially to the one side of the current one (top point on this image) so I'm going to check around there first for the home site. The bottom point on the image is the approximate position of the cemetery up on high ground. I'm hoping there may be some flat ground up high that might have held a house. I used this false-color image because it's the only map overlay that shows the forest road that goes up past the cemetery area there. I don't know when that road was put in, but it's basically an ATV-width hunting trail so I think it's likely it may have followed an older road originally.

 

[jeff of pa]

did you check for historical aerials of the area ?
Perhaps the other home was still standing in the Late 30's when
Aerial Photographs were going on here in PA.
And perhaps that they were going on there Too

 

[jeff of pa]

http://wvgis.wvu.edu/data/otherdocs/wv_historical_geospatial_products.pdf