Doing Research

[Troller]

In nearly all of the forums that I have been in now offering advice to newbies someone mentions that you have to do some research or go to areas where relic, or coins are likely to be! Of course knowing where relics may be located means research. As such I have started researching the history of the village that I live in and have found some very interesting information. One thing that I found to be rather interesting was the fact that the first circus ever to visit Wisconsin took place right here in town limits. Also there were battles here between Native Americans and settlers. Luckily I found a great resource with timelines and important locations as well as events. I have already started looking at google earth and other maps to get an idea of who owns the property that historic structures once stood and where important events took place.
Obviously some of these locations may not be accessible in the end. There is for instance the Bristol Soda Springs which drew visitors from all over the united states in the late 1800's. The spring is now part of a huge parcel of acreage that is privately owned and the entire parcel is meticulously groomed. The Spring saw a resurgence of interest after it was mentioned in a book Haunted Kenosha but it is well known that the owner does not allow anyone to visit the spring.

 

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[Tuberale]

Sounds like you've done the important stuff already. Are you ready to share the results?

 

[Troller]

I will definitely post pictures of any relics or old coins that I find. I am particularly interested in three locations. The fist is the location of the first Tavern in the area established in the 1840s this tavern also served as a post office during that time. The second is located just west of the Tavern. There the areas first blacksmith was established. The third location is the site of the areas first school. There is now the issue of getting permission to dig on those sites. I have been considering joining the areas historical society not only because I love history but because I hope that it will lend some credibility to my request when seeking permission to dig on private land. It is also somewhat of a race against time. As the two cities to the east of us grow they have taken to annexing parts of our town and have taken to developing those into suburbs. Where there were once farm fields 5 years ago we now have high end housing tracts and country clubs.

 

[kcm]

Troller, I applaud you!

Far too many people go to others for help (online and IRL) expecting "quick answers". Sometimes someone will give them the quick answer or the quick info they need, so they disappear, get what they want, but they never do learn to appreciate whatever it is they find or accomplish. In the end, they continually become more and more dependent on the generosity of others and never really learn how to do anything for themselves.

Good work.

 

[Troller]

Thank you KCM I definitely appreciate the nod! I just kind of have a head for history, and as such it is easy for me to sit down and read just about anything in that field. In that sense I have always been fairly independent. To everyone in this forums credit however, most everyone on here has been really helpful and offered great tips for newbies like myself. While some did give me a hard time about where I have been digging, it was never anything more than pointing out the flaws in logic that newbies tend to make and this poking fun absolutely helps one to remember the error and what not to do. Knowledge is power and if you depend on someone else to cultivate that knowledge you are accepting their interpretation of the facts as truth. There is nothing better than getting information from the source.
Still when it comes to applying techniques and skills read in books one has to realize that those who have been doing this for years are an equally valuable resource in that what works in theory doesn't necessarily translate to reality. The trick I guess is knowing when to read and when to ask someone!

Again thank you so much for the accolade! I really do appreciate it and I am in complete agreement with about the the perils of being dependent on others and quick answers!

 

[cudamark]

The first thing I would do is eliminate the word "dig" from my vocabulary. It brings up the visions of backhoes and such to those you speak to. Use "recover" instead. Stress your interest in the history when talking to the land owners. Offering to donate the relics to the local museum or historical society will make points with them too.

 

[kcm]

...Ask if they've lost anything of value there, what it was, and where abouts they think they lost it? If there is a particular ring or something that you can return, it may well lead to additional referrals.

 

[Terry Soloman]

...There is now the issue of getting permission to dig on those sites. I have been considering joining the areas historical society not only because I love history but because I hope that it will lend some credibility to my request when seeking permission to dig on private land. ...

I wish you only the best of luck, however let me tell you what I have experienced seeking "Official" permission and joining the Historical Society. DO NOT tell the Historical Society you are a metal detecorist (This equates with "grave robber" and "thief" in their eyes). When you ask for permission the answer is "No," 99.6-percent of the time for "legal" reasons. It is ALWAYS easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

I am NOT advocating trespassing or theft. I am simply telling you what I have concluded through personal experience.

 

[Troller]

I will definitely make sure to not mention the word "dig" from now on and substitute the word "recover". Thanks for the pointer on this as I never really thought about how it would sound to someone else. In terms of offering historically significant finds to the historical society I have made that offer to the village chair person who signed off on my permit to metal detect in village parks. Honestly I don't see the point in keeping something of historical significance locked away for only my enjoyment.

 

[Troller]

...Ask if they've lost anything of value there, what it was, and where abouts they think they lost it? If there is a particular ring or something that you can return, it may well lead to additional referrals.

This sounds like a good pointer as well! I will be sure to do this as well. I just found out that the land that I previously thought was un-owned has potentially been purchased by the local diner for the purpose of moving his business to that location. I feel that if this is in fact true my odds of being able to metal detect on this land just got better in that a large portion of the land will be turned into a parking lot.

 

[Troller]

I wish you only the best of luck, however let me tell you what I have experienced seeking "Official" permission and joining the Historical Society. DO NOT tell the Historical Society you are a metal detecorist (This equates with "grave robber" and "thief" in their eyes). When you ask for permission the answer is "No," 99.6-percent of the time for "legal" reasons. It is ALWAYS easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

I am NOT advocating trespassing or theft. I am simply telling you what I have concluded through personal experience.

The fact that Metal detectorist equates to grave robber or thief in some circles is unsettling. Obviously as you and I know this is not true of most detectorist. While I am sure that there are unsavory characters in this hobby as much as there is in any other hobby, I find this to be really unfortunate. Someone on here referenced a article that advocated the notion that archaeologist should work more closely with local detectorists. From participating in this forum I have found that a lot of people on here a in it for the hunt not and not neccessarily the big pay off. It seems to me that a lot of the people on here love history and the hobby is just a means for them to get outside and do some hunting. Don't get me wrong though, every time I go out I tell myself this is the day I am going to find something great even though I know it will probably just be quarters!
I will have to keep this in mind when talking to our villages historical society. Not to ramble on and on but this isn't the first time I have been invited to work with a historical society. Just after I got married I was invited to work with a local historical society giving tours on the weekends. This was a volunteer position and at the time I was working on my bachelors so needles to say I had very limited time to do this and never pursued it.
On another occasion I was chaperoning a school field trip to a historical home and brick kiln on the out skirts of Milwaukee. On the property they had an structualy sound smoke house that was built around the same time as the house. Not realizing I was talking to the chair person of the historical society for that area I briefly mentioned that I would love to see the inside of that smoke house because I had studied Charcuterie and BBQ cooking techniques for a couple of years. The smoke house was generally off limits to the public so you can imagine my surprise when the chair person produced a set of keys and offered to let me walk into the smoke house. Of course I took him up on the offer and we spent about an hour in there talking about the different items that were already in there. I was surprised when he asked me if I felt the smokehouse could be restored to working condition which of course it could be and I told him as such. Any how he gave me his card and told me to give him a call if I was interested in volunteering at the site!
Anyhow I have gotten way off topic here but I definitely thank you for pointing out the stigma that haunts detectorists and it bears mentioning that at the time of these offers I had not taken up metal detecting yet. I now get the impression that I may have received a much different reception if I had.

 

[cudamark]

Volunteering certainly couldn't hurt and it may open some amazing doors.