found old well...looking for dwelling....

[HollandsBrook]

i went detecting in the woods by my house a few weeks ago where i knew of an old well. i pretty much grew up in these woods, fishing/recreating, and know the area rather well. beacauce of this well, i was told my fellow detectors that i should go back to the spot and look for the remains of some sort of dwelling (house, school, cabin). i am quite certain that there is no cellar hole in the area, so the only thing i could think of is a barn or cabin. below is a picture of the well and surround area for illustration's sake (well is almost flush with the ground and on the very bottom right of the pic). the well is sitting equally between a small river shown in the background, and an old road behind me. (about 15-20 yards on each side). i was wondering how far from this well would some sort of dwelling be? there are some colonial homes down the road, the closest being about 200 yards away. what sort of signs should i be looking for to find where something might have been built? cant wait to hear your ideas!

 

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[txkickergirl]

I would look for an area that has lower trees or brush regrowth. Also search the ground for any kind of trash or pottery, next I would run a detector on all metal to id an area where there might be more iron, also look at the ground for any high spots or inclines. Is the well man made by machine, hand dug, or artisan? It wouldn't hurt to pull up aerial maps of the area and you can search any distortions or odd looking places on the map. Maybe you could also find an old survey map of the area and it could show a structure on it.

 

[flyinguy]

Marcus,hi! where there is a well there is a way! there was probably a no -stone foundation building near by. but.... there were also gravity feed springs and what else. and, my grampa used to push water up a 100' hill from 1000' from his pond to a cow barn with a water ram. i would detect the well area first. then set the machine down and walk concentric circles out from the well and see if anything looks suspicious. you grew up there and you should know it well. if nothing, detect the same way and look for any metal. you may hit it. good luck! Bill