BuckleBoy
Gold Member
Research, Legwork, and Detectin'...
Hello all!
Today was one of those legwork days. I had done a bunch of research. Now after all the work I teamed up with my buddy Rodes to go and find property owners and ask permission to hunt. (In rural areas, this task is much harder than it seems!!!) First I headed off to a place that appeared on an old map as a small community--including a post office. I was aware that there was little there now, but when I arrived on the site I was astonished! Population = 0. Number of structures remaining = 2; a small shack and a barn amid a great expanse of fields:
Here's my Camry with the detectors and gear parked in the middle of nowhere...
I even had to cross two creeks in the car. The second one was deeper. Go Camry, Go!
Got permission to hunt the shack. Also got permission to hunt the fields. I think I have accurately pinpointed the location of at least one other house site, a school, and the post office judging from the geographic features of the area. Wrote down the GPS coordinates of these after much sleuthing and walking around there. Although we didn't have much luck around the shack, I will certainly return to hunt the other sites on the property.
Picked up some nice fossils from the fields, as well as an Indian artifact or two:
Ended up the day with a quest to locate some one-room schoolhouse sites. Found one, but the property owner wasn't in. The second one along our way I strongly felt was on the same lot as a modern church, judging from the old maps. The first look at the site was discouraging--dirt had been pushed around everywhere to build the church. Plus, newer graves from the cemetery now existed on all of one side of the site AND the parking lot was PAVED!! We decided to try a smaller area right by the church where it looked like the soil had not been disturbed. We attacked any and every undisturbed patch we could get at, and we started digging wheats immediately--always a good sign.
My buddy Rodes got a set of 3 silver rings still held together by an aluminum strip. I wonder if this was lost before a wedding ceremony?! Any ideas? They are sterling, not white gold.
We also found several small metal buttons--typical finds for an old schoolhouse:
Then I dug up a personal first--a whole pocketwatch! (I've only found fobs, chains, front or back plates, or pieces of them before). I also nabbed a silver Washington Quarter:
Every once in a while, I have to step back and marvel at the interesting places this hobby can take us and the interesting people we meet along the way. Such a valuable day in terms of practicality...there gets to be a point where you've done all the research you can do beforehand, and you just have to get your feet on the site to learn more. Great scenery. Excellent company. And the best part is that we got a few keepers too.
Regards,
Buckleboy
Lifetime Member of the K.D.M.
Hello all!
Today was one of those legwork days. I had done a bunch of research. Now after all the work I teamed up with my buddy Rodes to go and find property owners and ask permission to hunt. (In rural areas, this task is much harder than it seems!!!) First I headed off to a place that appeared on an old map as a small community--including a post office. I was aware that there was little there now, but when I arrived on the site I was astonished! Population = 0. Number of structures remaining = 2; a small shack and a barn amid a great expanse of fields:
Here's my Camry with the detectors and gear parked in the middle of nowhere...
I even had to cross two creeks in the car. The second one was deeper. Go Camry, Go!
Got permission to hunt the shack. Also got permission to hunt the fields. I think I have accurately pinpointed the location of at least one other house site, a school, and the post office judging from the geographic features of the area. Wrote down the GPS coordinates of these after much sleuthing and walking around there. Although we didn't have much luck around the shack, I will certainly return to hunt the other sites on the property.
Picked up some nice fossils from the fields, as well as an Indian artifact or two:
Ended up the day with a quest to locate some one-room schoolhouse sites. Found one, but the property owner wasn't in. The second one along our way I strongly felt was on the same lot as a modern church, judging from the old maps. The first look at the site was discouraging--dirt had been pushed around everywhere to build the church. Plus, newer graves from the cemetery now existed on all of one side of the site AND the parking lot was PAVED!! We decided to try a smaller area right by the church where it looked like the soil had not been disturbed. We attacked any and every undisturbed patch we could get at, and we started digging wheats immediately--always a good sign.
My buddy Rodes got a set of 3 silver rings still held together by an aluminum strip. I wonder if this was lost before a wedding ceremony?! Any ideas? They are sterling, not white gold.
We also found several small metal buttons--typical finds for an old schoolhouse:
Then I dug up a personal first--a whole pocketwatch! (I've only found fobs, chains, front or back plates, or pieces of them before). I also nabbed a silver Washington Quarter:
Every once in a while, I have to step back and marvel at the interesting places this hobby can take us and the interesting people we meet along the way. Such a valuable day in terms of practicality...there gets to be a point where you've done all the research you can do beforehand, and you just have to get your feet on the site to learn more. Great scenery. Excellent company. And the best part is that we got a few keepers too.
Regards,
Buckleboy
Lifetime Member of the K.D.M.
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I'll see if I can steal a minute somewhere next week to grab a pic of the pocketwatch and fossils. That's the ONLY way to hunt, TreasureTales, although it can take a while to find the property owner in places like that. The good thing is that everyone around in the area will know who to ask. Many times I've gotten much more info than I bargained for when talking to the locals. I get told about someone's financial or romantic status, how many children they have...uuuughh! Occasionally someone clues me in on another site in the process of telling stories though. I always take a pad and paper with me when I go to knock on a door. You never know what you're going to hear. Sometimes I've even had to call property owners because they live a good distance away. (I hate this, and would rather meet and talk to them in person, but sometimes this is my last resort.) 
