Finding old bottle dumps

Sirthreadface · Feb 28, 2018

Hey guys! I’ve been wanting to try to do some bottle hunting for a while but I haven’t a clue where to start. I’m really new to this and any tips and/or tricks would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Phishfarmer · Feb 28, 2018

do a search for old maps for your area. Houses are often shown. Folks just piled their trash up a ways from the house back in the day. Privy was usually 30 - 50 feet away from the house also. I stumbled on this dump recently:

I found several old milk bottles, electric line insulators and inkwells there. The top is going to be more modern of course so take gloves when digging through it.

NJKLAGT · Feb 28, 2018

Oh, we've got a Canadian over here, eh bud? What province? If you don't mind me asking.

Old maps are good. Ravines, creeks, low spots. "Out of sight, out of mind". Topography is very important. The edge of farm fields where they get low and wash out downhill is always a good place to start. Get permission of course.

'Can't wait to see some of your finds!

Sirthreadface · Mar 2, 2018

I’m from Ontario, what about you? Yeah I’m really excited about this new hobby I’ve discovered. I usually just do metal detecting and occasionally I go looking for beach glass and old porcelain. I just picked up old bottle collecting not too long ago and I thought that finding my own stuff -for free- to add to my collection would be awesome! :laughing7:

NJKLAGT · Mar 3, 2018

Nice, I'm from Ontario too. Plenty of bottles to be had in Ontario! Good luck with your first finds. You'll certainly feel a different appreciation for the ones that you've found rather than bought.

villagenut · Mar 3, 2018

If you want bottles, better invest in a probe. It's a must have.

Sirthreadface · Mar 3, 2018

villagenut said:
If you want bottles, better invest in a probe. It's a must have.

What do you mean by a probe?

Gene Mean · Mar 7, 2018

Sirthreadface said:
What do you mean by a probe?

A probe is just a thin rod with a handle so you can poke it into the ground to "see, feel, or probe" what else is under the surface. I use a long screwdriver myself but probes can probably be up to several feet long.

Gene Mean · Mar 7, 2018

I search public parks here in New Jersey because alot of them used to be farms. For kicks I just searched 1875 Ontario map and sure enough a bunch of maps came up from HistoricMapWorks.com. You can use their overlay feature to see where old houses/farms sit on today's map. Not perfectly accurate but will get you pretty close. Definitely check the banks of streams around old sites. That's where alot of "trash" and bottles went. Good luck.