screwynewy
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By itself its not the most exciting find but to me it is better than a real Barber Dime -especially with the backstory. If you are bored read on........
In 1912 the local power company, Carolina Power & Light built an amusement park a couple miles north of Raleigh called Bloomsbury Park. They built an electric rail car trolley that would carry people to and from the park. There was a roller coaster, carousel, dance pavilion and penny arcade. The park was strung throughout with incandescent lights so at night it lit up the whole area and was soon called the Park of Lights. It was only open for about 10 years after which the rides were moved and/or dismantled and the site became woods again. The photo below is an actual picture taken at the park in 1915. If you look closely you can see the light bulbs strung around the park.
In the 1960's and 70's the area began to be developed for residential houses. There was a house built on the primary area of the park in 1983 but I was not aware of its exact location until later. Late last year I was contacted by a family to do a major addition/remodel project for them and their house is in the general area that I suspected the park to be. After securing a contract to do their project I inquired about Bloomsbury Park and was shocked to find out that it was right on their property. There is still the concrete pad where the old carousel used to sit. And even more surprising it turns out that the homeowners had the house built by my father in law. Of course I asked if I could metal detect the property which is a little more than 1 acre and they said I have an open invitation.
I went out today for the first time with visions of late 1800's early 1900's coins filling my pockets but I was disappointed to find that the property must have been detected before and/or there has been a lot of dirt moved around. I was digging 1980's Budweiser cans at 8 inches. I did manage to find a lead disk that someone hammered a barber dime into. Probably a teenager trying to pass it off at the park. I also was please to find several light bulb bases that would have been from the lights that were strung around the park. I also dug a small lock that looks to be the right age for the period of the park.
I will definitely be going back for more visits as there is a lot of natural areas and more lawn that I didn't cover. Will keep you posted if anything good pops up.
In 1912 the local power company, Carolina Power & Light built an amusement park a couple miles north of Raleigh called Bloomsbury Park. They built an electric rail car trolley that would carry people to and from the park. There was a roller coaster, carousel, dance pavilion and penny arcade. The park was strung throughout with incandescent lights so at night it lit up the whole area and was soon called the Park of Lights. It was only open for about 10 years after which the rides were moved and/or dismantled and the site became woods again. The photo below is an actual picture taken at the park in 1915. If you look closely you can see the light bulbs strung around the park.
In the 1960's and 70's the area began to be developed for residential houses. There was a house built on the primary area of the park in 1983 but I was not aware of its exact location until later. Late last year I was contacted by a family to do a major addition/remodel project for them and their house is in the general area that I suspected the park to be. After securing a contract to do their project I inquired about Bloomsbury Park and was shocked to find out that it was right on their property. There is still the concrete pad where the old carousel used to sit. And even more surprising it turns out that the homeowners had the house built by my father in law. Of course I asked if I could metal detect the property which is a little more than 1 acre and they said I have an open invitation.
I went out today for the first time with visions of late 1800's early 1900's coins filling my pockets but I was disappointed to find that the property must have been detected before and/or there has been a lot of dirt moved around. I was digging 1980's Budweiser cans at 8 inches. I did manage to find a lead disk that someone hammered a barber dime into. Probably a teenager trying to pass it off at the park. I also was please to find several light bulb bases that would have been from the lights that were strung around the park. I also dug a small lock that looks to be the right age for the period of the park.
I will definitely be going back for more visits as there is a lot of natural areas and more lawn that I didn't cover. Will keep you posted if anything good pops up.
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