Old River Crossings

[wetlawnmulch]

Has anyone ever had any luck at old river crossings? I've come across some rural Mississippi tributary river crossings, both cart crossings and old bridge crossings where trails crossed rivers other than the Mississippi, and just wondering if researching further is for purely historical knowledge or if it could be a potential site?

[Goose-0]

My suggestion is to detect a few of these places and see what comes up. You'll never know otherwise.

[Scribe]

I've tried a few crossings and have found them to be a lot of work. What I mostly found was trash targets. If I were to try to hit some again I would be looking for the ones that don't have any current modern use, (ie boat landings, fishing sites, camp sites, etc, etc...). I originally thought that there might be some good stuff dropped at the waters edge as people were at a transition point, but most the areas I checked I realized there was either too much muck or too much bottom activity to really find anything... except for a really cool fishing lure. Still the history is always good to know. I've found two river crossings where there was a boarding/hotel near by to service the travelers, (and "no" I wasn't able to get permission to search these sites....yet). You might also be better at MDing then me so are able to weed out those pesky trash targets better.

[Goose-0]

Scribe, I've detected many old house and ghost town sites and the majority of them have been detected before. Of course I found very little around the obvious places...AROUND the building and outbuildings. Then I began to hit the periphery .....the outer extremes of the building(s).....20, 30, 40 yards from the buildings and my finds increased dramatically. Consider that idea. Also, when I hit ghost towns in New Mexico (my annual jaunt), I make up a few "Treasures". I get some snuff cans (Copenhagen, Skol, etc) and put in a large, non valuable foreign coin with a note and my email address. On the note --- "Find anything?", or "You won't believe what I found here!", etc. I use tape to tape the seam of the snuff can.

I've hid around 10 of these 'Treasures', a few in Ohio and the rest in New Mexico. I bury these 'Treasures' just 2" or 3" deep in obvious places around the main building(s). So far in 3 yrs I've had no inquiries. Maybe some day...... Goose/Cy-Minn

[LHMN]

wetlawnmulch~
A good resource for river crossings information is the MN DNR website go to: Recreation/-Canoe and kayaking/(Find a Water trail) A-Z list - /then pick the river sections close to you, on there is a /‘tell me more link” here you can sometimes find some good history, prospects, and Cultural Information. I think you are in the St. Cloud area along with me so you would enjoy the “Brainerd to Little Falls” TAB, with info about the abandoned town of Crow Wing.
But the one that keeps me awake at night is the “Granite Falls to Highway 4” with a story one of Minnesota’s short-lived gold rush in the 1890s.
All of this information is also found in a book called paddling Minnesota.
If anyone is interested in checking these places out let me know.
Luke

[Brendoodl]

Hey guys and Ladies,
I will be in Minnesota in April and woul dlike to do some detecting. Is there anybody willing to take me out and get some done? I will be staying in Minneapolis for a week.

[LHMN]

Here is the information from Mn DNR site about the stretch of river "Granite Falls to State Highway 4"

Patterson's Rapids were named after Charles Patterson, an early trader who in 1783 established a trading post at the rapids. Sacred Heart Creek, which enters the Minnesota here, and the nearby town of Sacred Heart also owe their names to Patterson. The trader wore a bearskin hat and, since the bear was a sacred animal to the Dakota, they called him the Sacred Hat man; this name later became Sacred Heart.
The area near Patterson's Rapids was the site of a short-lived gold rush in the 1890s. Discovered in 1894, the gold vein was soon depleted and the boom town of Springville became a ghost town.
Does anyone have more informantion on this?

Thanks,
Luke

[Nate in Ga]

Hey guys and Ladies,
I will be in Minnesota in April and woul dlike to do some detecting. Is there anybody willing to take me out and get some done? I will be staying in Minneapolis for a week.

Pm me im only about an hour from there