Lost historic trail/road. How old are these tree stumps?

[Salura]

Using the oldest topo maps I could find for my property (1800’s) I noticed a old trail/road. Using that map I examined the property. I found several old tree stumps that line up with each other in the approximate direction of where the road should have been.

I’m metal detecting around the area and so far have found old (1901) bits of horse tackle. Is it possible to determine the age of a tree trunk (when was it cut down)?

 

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[IMAUDIGGER]

If the tree was green when it was cut, you could get a rough idea comparing the growth rings to living trees of the same species

Mark your finds with wire flags. You will soon see a pattern developing. Should be horse and oxen shoes, nails, washers, hooks...basically everything that might break or fall off a wagon bouncing down a poor road.

In the early days road construction consisted of cutting brush and rolling logs out of the way.

Aerial photos can sometimes show old roads depending on what time of year they are taken. You may find some evidence further away from your land and project it across using common sense.
.

 

[Salura]

Thanks IMADIGGER, I am doing just that. I was just wondering if the stumps I have can possibly be 100 years old or more. The spouse totally thinks they can be, I’m more skeptical.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Thanks IMADIGGER, I am doing just that. I was just wondering if the stumps I have can possibly be 100 years old or more. The spouse totally thinks they can be, I’m more skeptical.

You would make a fresh cut on the old stumps, then core a similar tree that would likely be significantly older than the tree in question. You would then look for growth ring patterns indicating drought or cold summers and correlate them. Some tree species will only be 6" in diameter after 160 years.

It's called dendrochronology.

I would think it would be easier to locate the road with a metal detector.

Around here, old tree stumps would be about waist tall due to the comfort of using a whipsaw. Even higher if a springboard/axe was used.

 

[Kray Gelder]

I'm thinking the only stump that may survive for a hundred years, in Florida, would be a cypress. And even then, would be mostly rotted away. Any deciduous tree stump would be long gone, as well as pine. I grew up in Western Washington, and the woods were littered with old cedar stumps, left from logging days in the late 1800's early 1900's. This was the 60's. The cedar ( cypress ) were mostly rotted after less than 100 years.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Here in Penna, while out hiking or detecting in the woods, it's very common to find tree stumps that were cut in the 1880's. These stumps are sometimes 3 foot across, so they had to have been huge trees when they were cut down. These are evergreen stumps that have not rotted away in the wet conditions we have.

 

[Tpmetal]

Here in Penna, while out hiking or detecting in the woods, it's very common to find tree stumps that were cut in the 1880's. These stumps are sometimes 3 foot across, so they had to have been huge trees when they were cut down. These are evergreen stumps that have not rotted away in the wet conditions we have.

I've been all over pa and never found evidence of stumps that old. You sure this wasn't the logging that happened in the early to mid 1900s? Heck I've been through lots of ccc logging areas that don't have the stumps anymore..... I have found many times though logs from the 1800's in old float ponds or old creeks with log runs still intact, but that's only stuff that has remained submerged the entire time. My cousin found a real nice one with the flooding in northern pa last year or the year before.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Tpmetal, I have the personal journals from a logging company that was in my town in the 1880's. It tells numerous locations where they cut timber. I have detected their old camp sites, and there still is quite a lot of standing tree stumps through out the forest.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

When I find old 1880s cabins here in colorado, the pine stumps are still standing from where they cut the logs. Most arent that thick since they were for a cabin.

 

[Tpmetal]

Tpmetal, I have the personal journals from a logging company that was in my town in the 1880's. It tells numerous locations where they cut timber. I have detected their old camp sites, and there still is quite a lot of standing tree stumps through out the forest.

Crazy, only explanation then is they had to be cut at that rare timing in the year when the majority of the sap was in the roots? Sorry to be doubtful, just in my experienced these areas were usually logged multiple times in history and I've always found documentation and evidence that points to these stumps( in northern pa and western ny is my experiences) being logged later than the initial logging. But you seem to have research and boots on ground evidence so I can't argue.

 

[Salura]

Thanks Everyone for your input. This mystery is part of what makes dirt fishing fun for me, and I always learn something coming here.

The stumps appear to me to be cedar. This area was big in turpentine making, so a lot of pines were tapped for their sap, a process nicknamed “catting” because the marks were said to look like cats, although I don’t see it.

So, the spouse could be correct, I may be looking at 100+ year old stumps. This area may have been farmed or used as pasture, as are the fields near me are used for cattle grazing.

I’ll keep dirt fishing and as I fix up the property we’ll see what I find. Of course I’ll share my discoveries here, as well as more questions, I’m sure.

Thanks again everyone!