How to detect a stage coach road.

[Phanntom]

I'm hoping I'm not biting off more than I can chew. I'm in South Carolina, in the low country and while doing some research at the local library came across an 1825 county map. It shows an old stagecoach road nearby so decided to spend some time looking for it. I did manage to find it, now I have a problem with how to approach hunting it. Friday afternoon I walked about 3 miles of it. I didn't see anything that looked like any cabin or stage stop where I feel I'm more likely to have a chance of finding anything. It only makes sense that the chances of something being dropped is greater where people congregated at a break in their travels, than just a road they traveled over. There was no reference on the map that showed any stage stops. This might be because the stretch I'm covering is only about two miles from the town, so the stop-over was probably in the town. If I can follow the road from end to end, it likely covers something between two and two hundred fifty miles.

Does anyone know an approximate distance stage stops were apart? I know 20 miles was considered a days travel, but they likely would've broke to rest or change horses in shorter distances than that. If I can learn that I can probably figure out likely spots to check for stops by starting at one of the terminus'.

When I located the map and saw the stage road on it, and then found it I was excited...now it's seeming like a daunting task. I fooled around with my detector while I was walking it and it was silent detecting. I think it only went off twice. In all-metal mode, I managed a clad penny, a small split-shot lead sinker and another what appeared to be a larger sinker....mostly it was just quiet.

If anyone has any ideas of how to approach this hunt I'm sure open to ideas.

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

reply

I'm hoping I'm not biting off more than I can chew. I'm in South Carolina, in the low country and while doing some research at the local library came across an 1825 county map. It shows an old stagecoach road nearby so decided to spend some time looking for it. I did manage to find it, now I have a problem with how to approach hunting it. Friday afternoon I walked about 3 miles of it. I didn't see anything that looked like any cabin or stage stop where I feel I'm more likely to have a chance of finding anything. It only makes sense that the chances of something being dropped is greater where people congregated at a break in their travels, than just a road they traveled over. There was no reference on the map that showed any stage stops. This might be because the stretch I'm covering is only about two miles from the town, so the stop-over was probably in the town. If I can follow the road from end to end, it likely covers something between two and two hundred fifty miles.

Does anyone know an approximate distance stage stops were apart? I know 20 miles was considered a days travel, but they likely would've broke to rest or change horses in shorter distances than that. If I can learn that I can probably figure out likely spots to check for stops by starting at one of the terminus'.

When I located the map and saw the stage road on it, and then found it I was excited...now it's seeming like a daunting task. I fooled around with my detector while I was walking it and it was silent detecting. I think it only went off twice. In all-metal mode, I managed a clad penny, a small split-shot lead sinker and another what appeared to be a larger sinker....mostly it was just quiet.

If anyone has any ideas of how to approach this hunt I'm sure open to ideas.

phantom, you're right on the first regard, that to simply hunt road/routes is almost always futile. You have to hunt where people stopped, got out, congregated, slept, ate, spent $, changed horses, dropped off mail, etc.....

The next observation to your question is you have to realize that the definition of "stage stop" can have multiple meanings too. Because things as minimal as "whistle stops" (where the passenger could tell the driver "let me off here") sometimes got morphed into being called "stage stops" as history got embellished. So sometimes, for example, someone says "my great grandmothers house was a stage stop". When the truth is, it was nothing but a home where the front porch was nothing but a mail drop that served a few neighbors, etc....

And then there is major vs. minor stops: Watering holes for the horses (which could be every few miles), verses a lunch-stop/horse changing location, verses a full-blown "stage stop" which had overnight accomodations, saloon, stage-switching to intersecting routes, etc....

And then take into account that over the decades, there might be competing stops, vying the stages business. Because go-figure: anyone with property fronting a route, might "throw out their shingle" to attract business, if they could. I've seen, in my area, where two stops were only a mile or so apart. Sleuthing further, I found out that one had the hotel and saloon, while the other had the telegraph and mail, etc.... (ie.: different functions). Sometimes one stop would fall out of favor, as another, further up or back, took over prominence.

 

[XLTer]

I know of a few stops in my area . There seems to be no real reason ( today ) for the location of stops . The closest one to town on a eastern route was only 3 miles from town . The next town was only another 5 miles . Try to locate and talk to older citizens in those nieghborhoods . Most times the elderly really enjoy talking about and sharing thier knowledge of the old days .

 

[Talon]

If the road isn't overgrown you could maybe strap your detector to your back and ride a bike or fourwheeler along the road looking for any ruins.

 

[Phanntom]

So far in the 3 miles of it I walked I didn't find any sign of past life except for the road itself. In my not so infinite wisdom I thought that would be a good chance of finding other signs of life along the route, simply because I figured it would make sense when settling down, to settle on a road. The road follows the rough path of the river which was a major feeder for the area. I'll head back to the library in the morning and see if I can scare up any other maps, maybe a topo that will show homesites etc. The Hysterical Society here seems to be more fixated on promoting the old names tied to the area. You ask them about a map and they look at you like maps haven't been invented yet. With all the Revolutionary and CW activity that went on around here, much of it had to have traveled that road. Thanks all for your inputs.

 

[Phanntom]

The road isn't badly grown over at all. I did find a "crossroad" that is far more overgrown and much more narrow than the main road. I might venture down it for a ways and see what I find. I can't help but believe "something" isn't here. Because it's in the low country, it might have been too swampy for people to build permanent structures. For you CW buffs...I would encourage you to come into South Carolina during the summer and go into the swamps with the idea of staying in there for just an hour. And...see if you can make it. I went in last summer....I made it about 15 minutes....that was about 10 mins walking in, and about 5 running out. When I was in there I tried to imagine what those soldiers had to go through. It was mid-90's, about 90% humidy, and not a breath of air moving except that stirred up by the mesquitoes....there were billions of them and they seemed to be about the size of a wren. Those soldiers had to tolerate these conditions with heavy underwear and heavy wool uniforms...there had to be a high rate of attrition. From what I've come across in my history lessons of the area...troops did their movements through the swamps to avoid being noticed, and then did their battles in the clearings of fields. Spending an hour in there though really gives one an appreciation for how tough those guys really were.

 

[Silverseeker]

Hey Phanntom. You have gotten some great advice already about talking to locals and learning what the old timers know. You can also supplement this with a few trips to the library and internet to brush up on your local history.

As for finding signs of a stage stop, here's a few tips. Look for rusty can piles, or cans strewn about a large area. If you see a few cans, check to see if they are modern or not. Other things to look for are whisky barrel rings, pieces of old wood, purple glass, square nails, etc. Basically when there was life, there was garbage, and they didn't usually clean it up back then. My best sites had no cabins or foundations left, making them much harder to find. In my experience, there was a can pile within throwing distance of most camps or stage stops out in the sticks.

Once you locate these signs of human activity, take the time to walk it off and note the types of trash and where it's concentrated. Also the amount of trash can tell you how much human activity was there. Try to visualize how the camp was set up. Like finding a massive concentration of square nails and melted rusty stuff in a concentrated area is a good sign it was a burned structure.

Good luck in your venture

 

[adaminnh]

I have found a lot of nice coins right on old roads. I still havent found any coins at a cellar hole. Old class A roads are my favorite to hunt. Bullet casings galore but worth it. Most coins were right in the center. I think most horseback riders rode the in the middle and sat in the middle of a wagon.

 

[Phanntom]

Some good suggestions. I do spend a lot of time in the library...in fact that's where I found the old 1825 map that led me to the stagecoach road. It wasn't anything supernatural...it said "Stagecoach Road", I just had to go and find it. Fortunately...also in proximity on the map was a river, so things just kind of fell into place. On my first walk of the road I did come across one place that did have two very rusty, family size, paper-thin metal cans. I paid attention and noted them, before continuing on looking for something more obvious. The blessing here is that so far there's almost zero trash in the all-metal mode.

It sort of becomes a luxury in detecting when you can dig everything in all metal because there's so little of it. The downside is...it's much harder to take the time to thoroughly search the area when you know you have so much area to search and the machine is always quiet.

 

[Hemisteve]

I would search the crossroad location. Has to be a reason for it being there.

 

[Farwalker]

General Stage Stops where people got out had three things. Water/Outhouse/& Coral for stage horse teams to change out.
Like others have said. I would look @ any metal object with age/old weathered pieces of plank/old posts in a configeration/piece of barbed wire./I would check under every large tree along the way. Stage roads were used by other travelers also. Some stopped for a spell for different reasons.I have found coins/bullits/mini balls/pistol balls/jewelry from the 1800,s under large trees several times (In large modern subdivisions.), love those BIG trees . Wish you well& good hunting! Im pretty sure you already have-checked those roads out on Google Earth.

 

[Phanntom]

Yeah I have checked google earth...you can't pick it out under the tree cover. From an airiel view...you can't see anything. It runs through miles of old growth. In fact, I was surprised there were no smaller trees or saplings growing in the road. The only sign of life in there I've found is a deer stand and those very old rusty cans. Other than that...there's no sign a living person has been on that road for a hundred years. No signs of corrals or pens, no planks nada. Truely virgin territory. Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow and I can get back out there for the better part of the day. I'm reasonably confident that it probably joins a modern road in places which will give me more access without having to walk the whole thing. It's a lot of ground for one person to cover and because the detector isn't constantly going off you tend to want to move too fast, not doing proper overlaps etc. I just want to find ONE item....even a horsehoe nail...just to let me know I'm on the right track.

 

[sciflyer25]

Check out this series of books from Arcadia. They are excellent resources for identifying historic buildings and farmsteads. I own many of the southeast PA county books local to me. They provide pictures/postcards with info oftentimes containing historic names and precise locations of buildings that served as true stagecoach stops.

South Carolina - South Carolina State Pictorial History Books | Arcadia Publishing

One of the books pictured here actually has "Low country" in the title.

Jim

 

[Butch In SC]

I'm hoping I'm not biting off more than I can chew. I'm in South Carolina, in the low country and while doing some research at the local library came across an 1825 county map. It shows an old stagecoach road nearby so decided to spend some time looking for it. I did manage to find it, now I have a problem with how to approach hunting it. Friday afternoon I walked about 3 miles of it. I didn't see anything that looked like any cabin or stage stop where I feel I'm more likely to have a chance of finding anything. It only makes sense that the chances of something being dropped is greater where people congregated at a break in their travels, than just a road they traveled over. There was no reference on the map that showed any stage stops. This might be because the stretch I'm covering is only about two miles from the town, so the stop-over was probably in the town. If I can follow the road from end to end, it likely covers something between two and two hundred fifty miles.

Does anyone know an approximate distance stage stops were apart? I know 20 miles was considered a days travel, but they likely would've broke to rest or change horses in shorter distances than that. If I can learn that I can probably figure out likely spots to check for stops by starting at one of the terminus'.

When I located the map and saw the stage road on it, and then found it I was excited...now it's seeming like a daunting task. I fooled around with my detector while I was walking it and it was silent detecting. I think it only went off twice. In all-metal mode, I managed a clad penny, a small split-shot lead sinker and another what appeared to be a larger sinker....mostly it was just quiet.

If anyone has any ideas of how to approach this hunt I'm sure open to ideas.

Phanntom....I'm in Mt. Pleasant and may be able to help. Send me a PM & we'll talk. Butch