There are still NJ ghost towns waiting to be discovered!

[West Jersey Detecting]

I saw a post regarding NJ towns, so I thought this was appropriate for this forum. Not all of the NJ ghost towns are located in the state forests. They are out there, especially in the more rural and wooded parts of the state. You just need to do the research and keep your eyes open as you drive around. Look at placenames and street signs for clues.

I had some extra time after an appointment yesterday, so even though I did not have my metal detector with me, I thought it would be a good idea to try to find some structures that show on an old topo map. The spot is nothing but dense forest now. I can not find any history of this site, but one of the structures shows on an old map dating back to the mid 1800's. Other than that I cannot find any references to any town ever being there, which is kind of odd. I downloaded the coordinates of 8 structures I saw on the map onto my hand held GPS by overlaying the old map onto Google Earth. I hit the nail on the head with the coordinates. I was able to find 7 out of the 8 cellar holes. All were within 20 feet of where my GPS said they would be! The 8th seemed to be gone, perhaps it was filled in. The cellar holes are all brick and/or stone; no poured concrete was used, so I think they are no later than early 1900's. Only one structure showed on a more modern topo map.

I eyeballed the 2 pennies (no detector used) near what was probably a privy. I also found old broken dishes, some old Tootsie Toys and the odd button (?). It kind of reminds me of the old Civil Defense logo. The pennies are 1910 and 1926. Not bad without a detector. I am sure i have found a spot which has not been detected yet! No doubt I will be returning to the site with my DFX ASAP!!!


I hope this inspires those of you who keep wondering if all the good spots are off limits or already hunted out. They are still out there.

Happy Hunting,
Neil

 

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[ClonedSIM]

Your button is probably a dress or jacket weight. Is it meade of lead; very soft and heavy? They were often sewn into the bottom linings of clothes many moons ago to keep the clothes from flying around in a breeze. Nice finds!

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Your button is probably a dress or jacket weight. Is it meade of lead; very soft and heavy? They were often sewn into the bottom linings of clothes many moons ago to keep the clothes from flying around in a breeze. Nice finds!

I think you are correct. I knew the item looked familiar!!

 

[ClonedSIM]

Your button is probably a dress or jacket weight. Is it meade of lead; very soft and heavy? They were often sewn into the bottom linings of clothes many moons ago to keep the clothes from flying around in a breeze. Nice finds!

I think you are correct. I knew the item looked familiar!!

I've dug a few myself. I get the vague feeling I should hang onto them for some reason, but I usually end up tossing them out along with the aluminum can-fetti.

 

[pro778]

I'm not trying to be smart, just curious. From reading your post, you don't worry about getting permission?

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

I'm not trying to be smart, just curious. From reading your post, you don't worry about getting permission?

Pro:

That is a good question, so no worries. When hunting private property I always ask for permission. I think that goes without saying. As far as public lands go, it all depends on the rules and regulations. All of NJ's state forests are off limits to detecting (although it seems as if littering is OK). There are, however, many county, town, and municipal lands that either allow detecting, or have no regulation specifically prohibiting metal detecting. Be aware that there are sometimes regulations on excavations, removal or disturbance of plants and or wildlife, etc. These laws are usually vague and open for interpretation. Use common sense and follow the Metal Detecting Code of Ethics ( http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,59268.0.html) and you should be fine.

 

[ClonedSIM]

I'm not trying to be smart, just curious. From reading your post, you don't worry about getting permission?

Pro:

That is a good question, so no worries. When hunting private property I always ask for permission. I think that goes without saying. As far as public lands go, it all depends on the rules and regulations. All of NJ's state forests are off limits to detecting (although it seems as if littering is OK). There are, however, many county, town, and municipal lands that either allow detecting, or have no regulation specifically prohibiting metal detecting. Be aware that there are sometimes regulations on excavations, removal or disturbance of plants and or wildlife, etc. These laws are usually vague and open for interpretation. Use common sense and follow the Metal Detecting Code of Ethics ( http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,59268.0.html) and you should be fine.

Ain't it the truth...

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

I'm not trying to be smart, just curious. From reading your post, you don't worry about getting permission?

Pro:

That is a good question, so no worries. When hunting private property I always ask for permission. I think that goes without saying. As far as public lands go, it all depends on the rules and regulations. All of NJ's state forests are off limits to detecting (although it seems as if littering is OK). There are, however, many county, town, and municipal lands that either allow detecting, or have no regulation specifically prohibiting metal detecting. Be aware that there are sometimes regulations on excavations, removal or disturbance of plants and or wildlife, etc. These laws are usually vague and open for interpretation. Use common sense and follow the Metal Detecting Code of Ethics ( http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,59268.0.html) and you should be fine.

Ain't it the truth...

I should have said, Littering seems to be OK, but removing the trash we dig up is illegal.

 

[HollandsBrook]

hey guys this may be a dumb question but how do you know if something is public or private property?

Neil: i am also from west jersey....is public property in our parts generally legal to detect? I've tried researching and I always look for signs, but nothing. I myself have found a cellar hole and well in a wooded area near my house that i am 99% sure to be public property.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

hey guys this may be a dumb question but how do you know if something is public or private property?

Neil: i am also from west jersey....is public property in our parts generally legal to detect? I've tried researching and I always look for signs, but nothing. I myself have found a cellar hole and well in a wooded area near my house that i am 99% sure to be public property.

I hate to say this because I know I am going to raise a few eyebrows with my response. I always assume that it is OK to detect public property, unless I am aware of any rules specifically prohibiting it. I will also assume that a wooded area is OK to detect unless I see private property signs, or it is obvious that it is private property. Obviously some common sense must be used. For example, I would not detect the front lawn of Town Hall, or the Public Library, unless I had gotten prior approval.

 

[HollandsBrook]

i think there should be a law stating that any private property over a certain amount of acres or in a wooded area should have to post private property signs every so many yards to alert anyone stumbling upon the property that it is in fact private. idk thats just me

i wont bother asking you where your newly found ghost town is, but can i ask what map service you used to find this? i personally use the online map services provided by Rutgers.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

i think there should be a law stating that any private property over a certain amount of acres or in a wooded area should have to post private property signs every so many yards to alert anyone stumbling upon the property that it is in fact private. idk thats just me

i wont bother asking you where your newly found ghost town is, but can i ask what map service you used to find this? i personally use the online map services provided by Rutgers.

I use a number of sites, one of which is the Rutgers Historic Map Collection. The ghost town I discovered is not on any map, I only discovered it because of some structures I found on an old topographic map. It was more of a hunch, which is sometimes as good as any research .

A few other good sites for maps of our area are the US Library of Congress American Memories Collection, here http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html, and the Maptech Historic Topographic Map Collection here http://historical.mytopo.com/townlist.cfm?stateabr=NJ

You should also check out some other areas of the Library of Congress site, such as architecture. I found a collection of photos that was taken in the 1930's which led to some great finds.

Last of all, your public library may have some older historic maps that were never digitized. Also check out the NJ Collection for books related to your area.

I hope this helps!

Oh, one more thing. Here is another thing I found when I returned with my detector. The site is littered with trash, so I just purchased a 4x6DD coil and hope to return to the site to see what I can dig up.

 

[HollandsBrook]

thanks neil...ive used all these sites before. they actually helped me find the cellar hole i reference earlier. what kind of gps unit do you use? i was thinking about picking one up for myself and would appreciate any recommendations.

thanks!

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

what kind of gps unit do you use? i was thinking about picking one up for myself and would appreciate any recommendations.

thanks!

I own a Garmin eTrex and it suits my needs just fine. For about $100, you get basic GPS capabilities. There are no maps on this model, but it finds your destinations within about 15 feet, and follows routes entered into the unit, either by hand or by downloading from your PC via an optional data cable (about $12 oneBay).