I have a spot that I want to hunt but can’t find it. Need advice.

[Truth]

On Historic Aerials I have a old homestead mapped out. This parish only goes back to 1935 but it disappears off the map in 1939 which tells me it’s a lot older than 1935. I took a walk down the shell road that shows it was on but I didn’t see any trace of it. Our woods are thick even in the winter if you wanna call it that. My question is if there’s no foundation to be seen (tons of pine needles, pine tree forest) what the best way of locating that exact spot? It showed that it was right off the shell road, but sometimes those maps can be off. It might be 60yrs in which is rough to get to, so I at least want the best place to go in at.


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[Peyton Manning]

it's riiiiight there ---------------->

 

[mindcrime1988]

It doesn't take long for nature to take over where a building used to be. And the one you're talking about is almost 80 years old gone. Yes the foundation can be long gone as well.

But when you're on Historic Aerials, you should be able to get a pretty good read on where that building was. There should be multiple aerial and topo years that you can toggle through.

If you still cannot get a good read, you could always do an overlay on Google Earth.

Hope this helps.

 

[Truth]

it's riiiiight there ---------------->

Hardy har har


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[Peyton Manning]

do you own a drone?

 

[Truth]

It doesn't take long for nature to take over where a building used to be. And the one you're talking about is almost 80 years old gone. Yes the foundation can be long gone as well.

But when you're on Historic Aerials, you should be able to get a pretty good read on where that building was. There should be multiple aerial and topo years that you can toggle through.

If you still cannot get a good read, you could always do an overlay on Google Earth.

Hope this helps.

It sure did. I was just hoping there was a way of somehow getting the exact longitude and latitude because it’s like going through the Amazon with no trail. They actually have a missing homestead in the woods that I’m suppose to be able to walk out my front door and get too and I’ve never found that one till this day. It’s still hot as hell out here and the mosquitoes stay all year round.


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[Truth]

It sure did. I was just hoping there was a way of somehow getting the exact longitude and latitude because it’s like going through the Amazon with no trail. They actually have a missing homestead in the woods that I’m suppose to be able to walk out my front door and get too and I’ve never found that one till this day. It’s still hot as hell out here and the mosquitoes stay all year round.

But I’ll find this one hell or high water

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[luvsdux]

If all else fails, I'd try detecting around what I think is the closest likely spot. You should pickup rusty nails, iron etc. when you are getting close.
luvsdux

 

[releventchair]

You need a spot detector!
High ground holds oldest sights near me. Due to climate ,Eastern and Southern exposure for winter sunlight to reduce snow and provide light. Your area may have favored cooler facing exposures.
Come spring you can keep an eye out for plants,trees,or shrubs over grown. All over grown ,or to great height.
Non native trees that were planted in the region. Or ,native specimens arranged in a pattern ( Planted ,or the result of selective thinning or clearing),or simply a cluster on an acre sight.
Around here ,lilacs mark old homesites where a hard life woman was gifted one from a friend or relative or carried a cutting to plant.
Non native spruce mark some old sites , and apple trees often mean a home was around.

Might be hints of old paths back and forth to water too. Horses ect. left narrow " runs" .
One old site had boulders that once were foundations and pillars.
White pine stumps made old fence rows.
Finding what don't fit natural randomness is harder than having a good map. But is possible with patience.

 

[Truth]

You need a spot detector!
High ground holds oldest sights near me. Due to climate ,Eastern and Southern exposure for winter sunlight to reduce snow and provide light. Your area may have favored cooler facing exposures.
Come spring you can keep an eye out for plants,trees,or shrubs over grown. All over grown ,or to great height.
Non native trees that were planted in the region. Or ,native specimens arranged in a pattern ( Planted ,or the result of selective thinning or clearing),or simply a cluster on an acre sight.
Around here ,lilacs mark old homesites where a hard life woman was gifted one from a friend or relative or carried a cutting to plant.
Non native spruce mark some old sites , and apple trees often mean a home was around.

Might be hints of old paths back and forth to water too. Horses ect. left narrow " runs" .
One old site had boulders that once were foundations and pillars.
White pine stumps made old fence rows.
Finding what don't fit natural randomness is harder than having a good map. But is possible with patience.

Thank you I’ll put a better eye out next time


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[TerryC]

I am going to assume that "shell road" is the same as a "gravel road" but made of shell. The homestead has to have had a driveway connecting to the shell road. Find a "rise" in the side ditch that would suggest a driveway connected the lot to the road. ╦╦Ç

 

[Truth]

I am going to assume that "shell road" is the same as a "gravel road" but made of shell. The homestead has to have had a driveway connecting to the shell road. Find a "rise" in the side ditch that would suggest a driveway connected the lot to the road. ╦╦Ç

yeah even if it’s gravel we call it a “shell road” down here. White shells, oyster shells everywhere it seems.



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[TerryC]

View attachment 1515716 yeah even if it’s gravel we call it a “shell road” down here. White shells, oyster shells everywhere it seems.



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Ok. Even if the driveway is completely overgrown, it's still there..... in some form. Walk the ditch until you find it. You may even find more than one driveway.... leading to other places to hunt. ╦╦Ç

 

[Mackaydon]

The last of the 64 parishes was established in 1910 so I don't know what you mean when you wrote: "This parish only goes back to 1935". Are you referring to the earliest date a map showed the parish you are interested in? Can you post a pic of the map on which the homestead you are looking for is marked?

Don......

 

[digger27]

Can't help you with maps and such but there is one way that you might be able to find these sites with a little luck and a lot of walking.
An old style throwback way to find sites like this.

This is the personal website of a super nice guy called KCSteve...
http://kcsteve.wixsite.com/kcsteve/blog
A cheap site that is slow and buggy but well worth the time spent there reading about his adventure I can assure you.




He came and spoke at one of my club's meetings a few years ago when I lived in Kansas, talked about what he does, how he does it and answered all our questions plus he brought tons of what he has found and I can tell you this guy was impressive.

He has been doing this hobby for over 35 years and for the last few decades he has specialized in looking for long lost tradeposts and civilian and military campsites...Dragoon sites especially.
He gets permission from huge land owners 100% of the time and looks for old camps on sometimes fields and farms but also sometimes way out in the middle of nowhere on still wide open lands that might encompass hundreds if not thousands of acres.

He uses all the modern tools he can to locate possible sites, the web, old maps, any history about troop movements plus any info he can find at the libraries to narrow down his search areas but all of that can only get him so far.
Sometimes, many times the only thing he can do is get on a huge piece of land and start walking and many times he walks for many miles on those open plains.
He swings his detector as he walks and listens and if and when he gets to a spot where he finally comes across metal he stops and examines that area better.
If he sees signs of the right kind of metal targets he has learned to look for so well, nails, horse tack and other things plus ash from campfires he starts to dig.
I asked him how many miles he has walked doing this and he said he couldn't tell me but it was much more than even he would like to know and uncountable hours swinging that coil hearing nothing as he walks over these vast areas.
All in a day's work it to him though, despite all the wasted time it was all worth it once he came across a long ago forgotten and now totally hidden and buried campsite.
He has discovered dozens of sites over the years doing it this way, sometimes this is the only way to accomplish this and you need to wrap your head around spending the time and effort finding great sites this way if you want to be as successful as he has been.

 

[RW]

I can't get this map to display but you may find a clue poking around for Sanborn maps...

https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn03265_002/

 

[G.A.P.metal]

Look for the "Iron Patch" and you`ll find the site !
Gary

 

[Centsless Detecting]

I havent found my home site ive been searching for either. Close to a road that has moved in the last 100 years. I do see some un natural landscape so thats where i wonder. I hate iron but it seems to be useful in finding the older stuff. I hope to stumble upon it soon. I know ive been within eye sight of the damn place... but where? Also havent found any coins older than a 1927 wheatie. Some relics that may be older though (old UMC&CO shotgun brass). The map i have is from 1899, the houses disappear in the newer topo maps. Good luck and happy hunting!

 

[Truth]

I havent found my home site ive been searching for either. Close to a road that has moved in the last 100 years. I do see some un natural landscape so thats where i wonder. I hate iron but it seems to be useful in finding the older stuff. I hope to stumble upon it soon. I know ive been within eye sight of the damn place... but where? Also havent found any coins older than a 1927 wheatie. Some relics that may be older though (old UMC&CO shotgun brass). The map i have is from 1899, the houses disappear in the newer topo maps. Good luck and happy hunting!

I’ve went twice and no trace. Pine tree woods with 4 inches on pine needles on the ground. We have thick woods even in the winter.


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[alabama11]

Look for ornimental plants in that area, fruit trees, bulb flowers. Get a probe rod to tap around on ground surface to find rocks or bricks.