California Gold Rush Relics

mtnbay

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Jan 22, 2014
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A buddy and I have access to private property that was one of the original gold discovery sites shortly after Coloma. The property had mining activity until 1910 or so. We have recently found the following items that we would love getting some further information on. Thanks for any help any of you can give.
 

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Photo 6 and 7. I don't know what it's called. But it is meant to fit in a calf's nose so that it can't nurse it's mother.
The reason for this is they don't want the calf to get all the milk. So they take it off the calf's nose and let it nurse,
say in the morning, then put that on the calf so they get all the milk in the evening. I can hear the animal rights people
clear from here, but times were different then.
 

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Did a short research, and now days they are made out of plastic, and called "quiet weaners," or "weaning tags." The calf stays
with the cow, and is weaned in 5 or 6 days without the animal crying and bawling for mom, and fretting off a bunch of weight that
needs to be regained. They also had halters with spikes on the nose part so the calf would poke the cow if it tried to nurse. I know
for a fact that people also used them to ration the milk to the calf, so they would have milk and butter for themselves, on account of my great grandparents did.
weaning tag.jpg Weaning-Tags1.jpgweaning halter.JPG
 

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1. three prong fork? 2-3. foldable pan-handle? 8. saw blade

6-7. were identified and 4-5. remind me of a very similar find posted on TNet not so long ago... can't find the thread though
 

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Had one of those "weaners" on the farm growing up. Just couldn't put a name on it till you guys posted it. Great ID guys and great find Mtnbay. :hello2:
 

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Pictures #2 and #3 is part of a window shutter hardware. The other piece would be the one that attached to the shutter. It would have a pin that fits into the piece you have. :thumbsup:
-MM-
 

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Thank you all for your feedback thus far. A weaner for calves is interesting as one of the four folks in this area that were listed in the census said their job was a milkman. A lot more relics to post as time allows the next few days. The window hardware hinge is very heavy and large. I wonder if it was a particular type of window or a very large heavy window. Near the hinge we did find large pieces of flat glass. Is the saw blade a particular kind of blade? The long metal piece with the holes on each end has a piece in the back that slides back and forth and we cannot identify that for anything. We also found a brick from the 1860's imported from Scotland as well. Looking forward to posting more pics soon.
 

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