Some " Free Town Restoration Project" photographs 8/16/13

creskol

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This is a photograph of an old house I bought last month. It was built in 1875, and will be under restoration for a while. A chimney on the site dates back to the 1820's. The photo below shows what it looked like when I bought it.
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The two photographs below show what it looks like right now:
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There is a LOT of grading that needs to be done around the house, but we started where we discovered an old sidewalk leading to the old chimney. Unfortunately, the sidewalk has to go, so we are hand digging and screening every bit of it as we go. Here is a photo of the screen set-up we are using:
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Here is the mound of screened dirt we have moved so far:
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We are dumping all the discarded rubble into a plastic tubs .. so far we have filled ten of these tubs with broken bottles , tin can pieces, and the other junk left on the screen after sifting.
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Below are some random shots of some of the relics we have found and saved to date:
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geologyjohn

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Cool looking place. What state is it in? Do you the name of the man who first owned it? Maybe a Civil War veteran.
 

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creskol

creskol

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Cool looking place. What state is it in? Do you the name of the man who first owned it? Maybe a Civil War veteran.

Thanks! It is in Virginia. I am not sure yet who the land owner(s) were prior to the date of the house. All of the houses in this area were owned and built by black families during the reconstruction period after the Civil War .. hence the name Free Town. I am still researching the area.
 

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creskol

creskol

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ah ok well awesome finds i would be out there all day swinging if i had a house that old :laughing7:

I think a detector would go bonkers with all the junk in the ground, at least where we are digging. In my 45+ years of detecting and my 34+ years as a restoration contractor , I have never encountered anything quite like the amount of junk in this soil. I have dug dumps that have less junk in the ground than this place has. I will try to get a few photos to show you what I am talking about.
 

River Rat

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Sure's gonna look nice when it's finished...a lot of work involved. Hope you find more historical relics.
 

HutSiteDigger

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Some great artifacts have come out of Albemarle County.. I have had the pleasure of hunting up there a handful of times over the years. I would love to see a photo of the chimney from 1820s and the ground around it.. Cellar hole from that time period of 1820s is gotta be there somewhere. I bet you could dig into more of the history of the site @ the library from old land records, micro films,etc. Like when the original house stood and was torn down or perhaps a fire. If it was torn down around the Civil War period you know people use to hide gold coins,etc in and around chimneys just in case the union came.. I know for a fact this site will produce some coins.. boy i love relic hunting trashy sites like this, i love it!
 

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creskol

creskol

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Some great artifacts have come out of Albemarle County.. I have had the pleasure of hunting up there a handful of times over the years. I would love to see a photo of the chimney from 1820s and the ground around it.. Cellar hole from that time period of 1820s is gotta be there somewhere. I bet you could dig into more of the history of the site @ the library from old land records, micro films,etc. Like when the original house stood and was torn down or perhaps a fire. If it was torn down around the Civil War period you know people use to hide gold coins,etc in and around chimneys just in case the union came.. I know for a fact this site will produce some coins.. boy i love relic hunting trashy sites like this, i love it!


Thanks Hut .. have snagged a few coins already, but nothing that would light the world on fire. ..but .. there is always tomorrow!
 

DanKnug

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The cat in pic#6 is eyeing that big dirt pile...."Hmmm, nice litterbox..." :cat:
 

Bayou Joe

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That's really cool, should keep you busy for a while.
 

Limitool

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Good job thus far guy.... Wish I was there just to help. Do you have any idea maybe where the privy pits might be? I know that would something to do on "down the road" but might be some great items in there. Keep us posted with updates as you get them.... thanks... Brad
 

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creskol

creskol

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Good job thus far guy.... Wish I was there just to help. Do you have any idea maybe where the privy pits might be? I know that would something to do on "down the road" but might be some great items in there. Keep us posted with updates as you get them.... thanks... Brad

Thanks Brad .. I will be sure to keep you posted as things progress. I haven't had a chance to poke for a privy yet, but I will once the restoration gets under way a bit.
 

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creskol

creskol

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Great story and pictures! No old coins yet?

Thanks .. Yes.. we have found some coins with the oldest one found today .. a
1699 King William III Farthing. We have also found an 1881 I.H. penny, a dateless I.H. penny, a dateless Barber dime, a nice 1913 Barber dime, a 1937 Buffalo nickel, a 1944 Wheat penny, and one very old unknown fancy disc that we thought was a coin, but it is probably a piece from some kind of jewelry.
 

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