Legionville (beaver county),Ambridge,Pa

[deepskyal]

I was driving through Ambridge today and realized i had forgot all about this place that I detected back in the early 80's. Didn't find much but trash if memory serves me but I see it is still very abandoned and overgrown.
I found this neat article on line....you think the law is tough today...try 100 lashes or running the "gauntlope" nude.
http://www.bchistory.org/beavercounty/BeaverCountyTopical/Military/LegionvilleOrdersMA80.html

Al

 

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[halfdime]

I've often wondered if any detecting has been done around Old Economy. Ambridge (where I went to High School and used to live) should be a good town, generally, with lots of old houses and little back yards. Unfortunately, I left before I took up detecting. I did around the old American Bridge building without much success.

 

[deepskyal]

That's the only place I tried, besides Old Economy Park where I lived for 11 years. That place should be great...it's where they have their annual "Great Snow Shovel Race".

I lived on Forcey Drive and owned the small red brick ranch just inside the park on the left. On snowy days, I was lucky to get out of my driveway from all the sledders driving around the circle dropping off or picking kids up on the slope. They had those races since at least the early 60's from what my neighbors told me.

The park in general dates to the late 50's when Dr.Forcey donated the property to the county for a park and sold about a dozen lots for private use.

I did try detecting the slope once while I lived there but I was trying to use an old Whites coinmaster 3000 series with a screwed up discrimination....and that ground is highly mineralized. In all my years there I never once saw anyone else detecting it...could be a good spot for someone with a decent detector that will ground bal good and can handle the high mineralization.

You gotta figure, those snow shovel races drew, and still draw close to a hundred spectators and participants. All age levels participate and quite a few roll off their shovels and tumble down the hill.

If you detect this area, I'd start directly across from where my old house was. That's where the hill seems steepest and where the races ran from. It's just to the left of the monument in the park.

Also, another interesting thing about Old Economy Park, there is an old clay mine back in the woods. There is a marker in the vicinity placed by the Girl Scouts, who did a project there. If you follow the boy scout trail, I believe it passes it.

There has also been boy scout camp outs by the Corn Crib Shelter and up on the hill near the tennis courts.

Along a path by the tennis courts, the boy scouts built a really nice log building for a project. They were suppose to tear it back down...dont know if they did or not.

Below the Barn, off to the right is the foundation of something, probably a spring house, but there is a ton of poison ivy growing there. Just below that is a small pond with gold fish in it but I think it boarders private property and the guy that lives in the house next to it is well known locally as a crazy man.

If you go hike along the trail across from the barn, there's what I think is remnants of a house. There are some timbers laying and staked in the ground that I can only figure was a garden squared off.

If someone wants to try this area some day...now that I got a better machine it will certainly go up on my list of places to detect.....I can give the grand tour that , just hiking, would probably take a couple hours walking to see all the shelters and such.

Al

 

[halfdime]

I grew up in Economy, swam at the pool and attended many picnics there. I detected up by the tennis courts and pulled a few wheats, but was far from thorough. That's my issue with the park; it's only 50 years old. I try to hit areas that are much older, inhabited/used during the gold coin era. I do make exceptions, of course, and I'd assume you could find some jewelry there. As for the snow shovel contests, I knew many of the winners, back in the day. A former teammate of mine is the Asst. Rec. Director for the county, which operates the park. Legend has it that I was conceived in a house along Ridge Road near the entrance to the park . For some reason, my dad let that spill before he died.

 

[deepskyal]

I can relate to the age issue...50 years old doesnt seem like much. But, then I got to thinking...50 years ago and people might have had coins in their pockets 20 or 30 years old. So now, the potential for an 80 year old coin increases.

I hit one park just for the heck of it that wasn't all that old...30 years maybe...I was finding dimes from the early 40's..it's silver..what the heck.

But I am alot like you...I like the really, really old sites more out of curosity than anything else.
Al