How to find old ghost towns?

[neo]

I'm.new to detecting i bought the treasure atlus from Thomas p Terry for NC specifically Caldwell county it has towns listed such as hartland jumbo and a few others but i can't find any info on.them on the net only ghost towns for NC i can find are on Wikipedia where else can i look, i assume the author is an expert can anyone who's experienced look up the few i have listed and tell me if there real.

 

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[neo]

Also others that may be useful in Caldwell county NC yadkin valley cedar valley Finley and Moore.
I also forgot to mention the wiki has the town of Mortimer and edgemont which i know but aren't listed in the treasure Atlas for some reason, i just want to make sure towns are real and not a wild goose chase.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Go to local libraries of those areas; check Reference Sections for "Lost"/Ghost Towns. Mountain Communities are also important for Western NC; LOTS of Silver Mines in those hills! "Google" Lost Communities of Western North Carolina; Ghost Towns of Western North Carolina. HH!
Good Luck!

 

[neo]

Been looking my local branch very small can't find any info on the ones in Thomas p Terry's treasure Atlas.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Just "google" the ones in his book...

 

[neo]

I have can't find nothing on.them i assume he's an expert but no idea seen some old maps of western NC in library books but not one listing, is it possible it could have been camps that were never officially listed as towns? If so will be hard to find unless some ruins.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

LOL!

 

[neo]

hopefully a geological survey map might have ruins listed

 

[Mackaydon]

Name one (no more) of the GTs you are interested in.
You'll get a response to one at a time more often than asking for info on a list of requests.
Just saying.......
Don.......

 

[neo]

Just hoping someone has heard of any of them

 

[BIGSCOTT]

mackydon has a good idea if the topic of your thread was ghost town of moore north carolina you might it might catch someones eye that knows.

i use perrys books alot but have found the same problem on some of the ghost towns.

i am going to try this myself, ''THANX MACKYDON''

 

[Oroblanco]

Here is someone else hunting for info on Jumbo, NC
Jumbo (Caldwell County, North Carolina [NC]): Searching for Information


Topographic Map Populated Place Features in Caldwell County, North Carolina
Browse by County - Caldwell, Feature Type - Populated Place
Feature Hartland
Type Populated Place
County Caldwell
USGS Topo Map Morganton North
Elevation 1181 feet
Lat 35.853ºN Long 81.646ºW
Hartland USGS Morganton North Quad, North Carolina, Topographic Map

Edgemont NC
Edgemont USGS Grandfather Mountain Quad, North Carolina, Topographic Map

Not to trash Thomas Terry's Treasure Atlas series, but it is good to remember that he was basically working from newspaper archives, not field checking on his info; a fair number of towns he has listed as "ghost towns" are not ghost towns, including the place where I live Edgemont, SD which he has listed as a ghost town and has nearly 1000 people living here. Lots of great info in his atlas however, just you have to do your own field work to determine if he had it right or not, and in a few instances he did not recognize that two different stories are talking of the same thing.

I would highly recommend hunting up the oldest maps you can find of your area you wish to hunt, make note of the little villages and settlements and compare to modern maps; by this method you may well find some ghost towns and forts that Terry failed to find. There are some great collections of OLD maps online, if you can not find some let me know and I can suggest some good sites for starters. Also, do not forget to use those old newspaper archives yourself, the Library of Congress has a terrific selection and you may find treasure stories for your area that NO ONE else is even looking for.

NC state archives, a pretty good collection IMHO
Home: State Archives of North Carolina

US Library of Congress newspaper archive
All Digitized Newspapers « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

That should get you started - good luck and good hunting amigo, you are in a GREAT area for finding the GOOD STUFF, heck I have done some panning and gem hunting not far from you (years ago) it truly is some of God's country; I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco

PS and don't forget to come back and tell us about your adventures, and show some of the great stuff you will find!

Coffee anyone?

 

[neo]

Will be checking these sites out my next adventure will be in June at Myrtle beach.

 

[Mackaydon]

Big Scott,
You're welcome, anytime.
HH, Don...

 

[Mackaydon]

neo,
You may find this interesting regarding Jumbo: Jumbo (Caldwell County, North Carolina [NC]): Searching for Information
Though they, too, don't know where it is/was, they do give you hints/clues as to how to find it (and other GTs)--or, at least, the story behind the place.
Don.....

 

[neo]

One day i plan on going to lost cove cool place in yancey county from pics ive seen bet a good hunting ground for artifacts etc.

 

[neo]

For those still interested in my adventures currently still trying to find my great grandfathers moonshine money just doing more research and going to buy a new detector before i go out looking, I borke my old one at the beach but good experience, as for ghost towns just bought a few more books to learn some more, I'm also learning how to search everything i can with a few of the books, will keep everyone updated. you can see more of my threads in NC section of site.

 

[neo]

Also forgot to thank everyone for info its helping a lot.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Also forgot to thank everyone for info its helping a lot.

GOOD! Good Luck & HH!

 

[BDinutah]

For the area I live in, I can go to the county recorders office, if I have a ghost town name, and check to see if they have a plat map, the plat map gives me the layout of the town, streets, and buildings, sometimes the exact long/lat coordinates, this has paid off several times. After a little research (old local newspapers and cemeteries, etc.) I've also been able to locate descendants of the original town members who have provided additional information.