Finds from the 1810 Homestead

[ANTIQUARIAN]

The old homestead was originally located in the town of Columbus, Ontario. I say originally because it was torn down about three years ago to build a golf course on the property. Once again, we lose another irreplaceable building for the sake of building a golf course! Last week I screwed up the courage to ask the owner for permission to hunt the property and he said, "sure go right ahead". I hunted this site on Friday and this afternoon for a total of 6 hours. I could still see portions of the old foundation at the back and I remembered where the footprint of the old house stood. I could also tell that there had been soil added on top of the original soil, so I knew that I'd have to think "outside the box" as to where would be the most likely areas to make some finds.

I started by finding some modern coins; my earliest was a 1956 penny. I found a bunch of iron trash and a lot of square and rosehead nails. I ventured into the woods for a while and found more square nails, some old bottles (none were worth the effort to bring home) and the golfballs. I get the feeling that there's something good here, but I just haven't found it yet. On Friday I got my truck stuck in the soft shoulder and it cost me $180 to get it pulled back onto the road!

The last picture is just to say thanks to a good friend for sending me one of the beautiful buttons he found . . . OK, he actually found 25 of them! Thanks Herbie!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[HISPAN]

Historic Places converted into golf courses .... is a shame.
H

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Historic Places converted into golf courses .... is a shame.
H

Hello Hispan

Last week I resigned as a committee member for the local Heritage Society here in town, because they had so little power to prevent these type of things from happening!

Dave

 

[Hasse]

Unfortunately, many historical places in the world is destroyed with the progress
and financial interests.
Money makes many humans close their eyes and asquecer our ancestors!

 

[Bramblefind]

Aw sorry about the truck incident. But for sure- Go back there again! This reminds me of the site I am working now - Circa 1800 house that was burned down this winter to make way for a new house The first few times I went I found very little but slowly the keepers are coming and recently got a 1760s halfpenny on like my 6th time there I think I go too quickly when I get a new site and when I am used to it and take my time and go slow I do much better.

That button is awesome- Herbie is a great guy!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Unfortunately, many historical places in the world is destroyed with the progress
and financial interests.
Money makes many humans close their eyes and asquecer our ancestors!

I completely agree with you Hasse! I love the old homes, especially the ones here in Canada that were built pre-1850, they are all one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable!

Thank you,
Dave

Aw sorry about the truck incident. But for sure- Go back there again! This reminds me of the site I am working now - Circa 1800 house that was burned down this winter to make way for a new house The first few times I went I found very little but slowly the keepers are coming and recently got a 1760s halfpenny on like my 6th time there I think I go too quickly when I get a new site and when I am used to it and take my time and go slow I do much better.

That button is awesome- Herbie is a great guy!

Thanks very much for the encouragement on searching these "razed" sites. I'll continue to hit this site until I feel it's given me all that it's got to give! I agree with you when you say that we "go too quickly" at new sites. I can't help but race around a new site when I first get there hitting all the most obvious spots hoping for a relic. It's great to hear that your patience paid off, hopefully mine will too!

Thanks,
Dave

PS. Yes, Herbie is a really decent guy!

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

That does sound like an expensive tow job. ouch !

Yeah I'd go back, an 1810 site "should have something there for you older than 1956 ??

Good luck out there.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

That does sound like an expensive tow job. ouch !

Yeah I'd go back, an 1810 site "should have something there for you older than 1956 ??

Good luck out there.

Thanks buddy, I'll post anything else good I happen to find!
But no more golf balls, I promise!

Good luck to you as well,
Dave

 

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

ouch on the stuck vehicle.if ya have the feeling of something there then get back there!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

ouch on the stuck vehicle.if ya have the feeling of something there then get back there!

For sure Dave!
This is a place I've had my eye on long before it was torn down. Just thinking about how long this building had been standing in this place and the history it had seen! It still makes me want to cry when I remember driving by and seeing the house was gone two days after it was torn down!

Happy hunting buddy,
Dave

 

[treasurepirate1]

strange why they tore it down, it doesn't even look like they cut the grass there to make room for more golf space, just tore it down to leave space for nothing. Makes you mad huh. also i live in ontario, and lots of old places get torn down , i will name a few, one in town down town, a wooden store was destroyed to make room for an ugly two store building, a big old house was tore down to make room for another ugly building, but were they built the new building was no where near where the older house was so they tore it down for no reason, also a big yellow brick 1870s school house is going to be tore down soon because the owner of the building was careless and did do the necessary repairs and inspections, so it got black mold and will get tore down for a sub division in 2012, more will be drawn to this fate but some people do care and have saved lots of old places in the town i live.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

strange why they tore it down, it doesn't even look like they cut the grass there to make room for more golf space, just tore it down to leave space for nothing. Makes you mad huh. also i live in ontario, and lots of old places get torn down , i will name a few, one in town down town, a wooden store was destroyed to make room for an ugly two store building, a big old house was tore down to make room for another ugly building, but were they built the new building was no where near where the older house was so they tore it down for no reason, also a big yellow brick 1870s school house is going to be tore down soon because the owner of the building was careless and did do the necessary repairs and inspections, so it got black mold and will get tore down for a sub division in 2012, more will be drawn to this fate but some people do care and have saved lots of old places in the town i live.

Thanks very much for your post, it was an interesting read! The old home stood within 50' of the main road and the owner mentioned that he already has the permit to build on the land. The golf course was built up in behind where the house stood in the old pasture. I think the owner's going to build some outbuildings here to store the turf equipment.

I searched the internet for a photo of the house to post with my finds, but couldn't find anything. I just wish somebody had the foresight to offer to purchase the house for $1 and then moved it to another property. It was the oldest house in the region and it really upset me when it was torn down!

Thanks again,
Dave

 

[djm of PA]

shame to lose a piece of history for the sake of a golf course, but on the bright side you now have permission to be there, so enjoy it and take advantage of it. Looks like a site that could hold a few deep treasures!

 

[steelheadwill]

Hi Dave,
Sounds and looks like a great area for finds.
It's a lot of area to cover though, especially when you gotta pick thru iron.
Keep swingin low and slow, and somethings gonna ring up for you !
Best digs, Herbie

 

[treasurepirate1]

strange why they tore it down, it doesn't even look like they cut the grass there to make room for more golf space, just tore it down to leave space for nothing. Makes you mad huh. also i live in ontario, and lots of old places get torn down , i will name a few, one in town down town, a wooden store was destroyed to make room for an ugly two store building, a big old house was tore down to make room for another ugly building, but were they built the new building was no where near where the older house was so they tore it down for no reason, also a big yellow brick 1870s school house is going to be tore down soon because the owner of the building was careless and did do the necessary repairs and inspections, so it got black mold and will get tore down for a sub division in 2012, more will be drawn to this fate but some people do care and have saved lots of old places in the town i live.

Thanks very much for your post, it was an interesting read! The old home stood within 50' of the main road and the owner mentioned that he already has the permit to build on the land. The golf course was built up in behind where the house stood in the old pasture. I think the owner's going to build some outbuildings here to store the turf equipment.

I searched the internet for a photo of the house to post with my finds, but couldn't find anything. I just wish somebody had the foresight to offer to purchase the house for $1 and then moved it to another property. It was the oldest house in the region and it really upset me when it was torn down!

Thanks again,
Dave

i have only ever heard of a couple stories of people buying buildings for $1, i would buy an old building but i am young and can not afford to move large buildings, but i could take a small building apart in large sections number the pieces put them on a trailer and reassemble them myself, but i own no land, but when i am able to do this maybe i will one day

 

[lucky d]

golfers are people too....fore !

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

shame to lose a piece of history for the sake of a golf course, but on the bright side you now have permission to be there, so enjoy it and take advantage of it. Looks like a site that could hold a few deep treasures!

Thanks for your words of support and advice DJM! I get that same feeling everytime I'm there as well, that there's still some good stuff left! The problem is that the land owner has a permit to build on the property and construction could start any time now.

Thanks again buddy,
Dave

Hi Dave,
Sounds and looks like a great area for finds.
It's a lot of area to cover though, especially when you gotta pick thru iron.
Keep swingin low and slow, and somethings gonna ring up for you !
Best digs, Herbie

Thanks Herbie, I'm going to spend as much time as possible there until the construction starts. I'm even contemplating taking apart what's left of that foundation to find any relics that might be in behind!

Happy Hunting,
Dave

PS. Did you receive the letter I sent you?

strange why they tore it down, it doesn't even look like they cut the grass there to make room for more golf space, just tore it down to leave space for nothing. Makes you mad huh. also i live in ontario, and lots of old places get torn down , i will name a few, one in town down town, a wooden store was destroyed to make room for an ugly two store building, a big old house was tore down to make room for another ugly building, but were they built the new building was no where near where the older house was so they tore it down for no reason, also a big yellow brick 1870s school house is going to be tore down soon because the owner of the building was careless and did do the necessary repairs and inspections, so it got black mold and will get tore down for a sub division in 2012, more will be drawn to this fate but some people do care and have saved lots of old places in the town i live.

Thanks very much for your post, it was an interesting read! The old home stood within 50' of the main road and the owner mentioned that he already has the permit to build on the land. The golf course was built up in behind where the house stood in the old pasture. I think the owner's going to build some outbuildings here to store the turf equipment.

I searched the internet for a photo of the house to post with my finds, but couldn't find anything. I just wish somebody had the foresight to offer to purchase the house for $1 and then moved it to another property. It was the oldest house in the region and it really upset me when it was torn down!

Thanks again,
Dave

i have only ever heard of a couple stories of people buying buildings for $1, i would buy an old building but i am young and can not afford to move large buildings, but i could take a small building apart in large sections number the pieces put them on a trailer and reassemble them myself, but i own no land, but when i am able to do this maybe i will one day

Believe me when I tell you, that as we get older it becomes easier to do these kinds of things! All it takes is time and money!

Thanks for your post man and good luck in your hunts "up north".
Dave

golfers are people too....fore !

I hear ya luck d! I'm an avid golfer myself!

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Nana40]

Go slow! Go slower than slow. Go backwards if you have to. Anything that beeps above the positive; DIG!

Old Nana

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Go slow! Go slower than slow. Go backwards if you have to. Anything that beeps above the positive; DIG!

Old Nana

Thanks for the great advice Nana40! It's so hard to go slow though. But your right, I need to listen more intently for those high tones. I'll hit it again this weekend and will post anything new of interest that surfaces.

Thanks again,
Dave

 

[tomharris76]

Yeah, don't give up on that place. Keep digging as long as you have permission. I know what you mean about good hunting places getting ruined. The parks department installed a frisbee golf course right through the heart of my favorite park. Every time I try to detect it now I have frisbees flying by my head.