Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

[DevilDocST]

Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

Hi All, Ma Hunter here,

I stumbled upon an excellent detecting spot and had a few ?'s. I begin hunting this spot last year... and was able to find my 1st merc.. and silver spoon. (in a small backfield near an old baseball field.)

This property consists of a large barn connected to a house which dates back to the late 17 / early 18oo's with numerous stalls for animals, an old outhouse in the barn and a large well under the barn. There is also a large tree directly outside the kitchen window. (I heard this could be where old caches are buried.) The property consists of 4 large fields about 25 + acres. (One containing a baseball field)

I was wondering if anyone had any tips, or where I should start, or where the best place to start would be..??..?? Also if farmers buried caches where would they likely be on farms

Thanks for all the support, HH

-Stephen

 

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[paleo10kbc]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

I`ve only detected 2 old farmhouses,but I like to guess where most foot traffic might have been.Wells to back doors,front doors to chicken coop,etc.Then after I detect those obvious spots,I`ll do an "all metal" sweep to see if I can locate any old foundation or any other debris trail.People have been careless and clumsy for years.
You`ll know just where they`ve been.
As far as cache hunting,almost anywhere is game.I`ve heard of them anywhere in,on under,or around the house.I`ve even heard of a fence-post safe that installs in the bottom of the post,under ground,that was sold by Sears&Roebuck in the early days.Never found one,myself.But they are out there.
Good luck.Hope I`ve helped.
Paleo10kbc

 

[Born2Dtect]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

I would hunt 100 feet in all directions around any house, building or place with signs of an old building, glass, brick, metal. Second, on the larger fielads do an X on the whole field. Check the corners good. Look for large trees on the edge and then for old paths. If you find anything spend some time there.

Ed D.

 

[Fisher]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

I suggest buying the book "Ghost Town Treasures - Ruins, Relics, & Riches" by Charles Garrett. It has many good tips in it for searching old farms.
i.e. Scan the trunks of trees with holes in them since a farmer may have hidden a cache in the tree...look for nails or other markers in a tree or tree limb, that could be a "sign" pointing to a cache.
I'm only halfway throught the book right now but I can't wait to get back to the ol'farm I hunt to try some of the things I've learned.

GL & HH

Fisher

 

[DevilDocST]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

Thank you so much for replying to my post. It is really appreciated!
I think Ill check out my local library and see if I can pick up the book you metioned.

Thanks again,

Ma_hunter

 

[piddler]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

Hi there,
Sounds like you have a really nice place to hunt. Take your time and hunt small sections at a time. Taking your time is the key, and after you search the whole place, go back over it again. You will find something everytime you go over it. Say you search one place and only find junk, pick it up and get it out of there, it could be hiding something good!
Check out the front and back doors of the house, the corners of the house, any large flat stones close to the house or outbuildings, The outhouse or privy...sounds dirty but dig it up! that is where you will find a treasure in old bottles! Check out the fence lines. There could very well be post hole caches there.
You could very well be there for some time, and it could pay off big time for you. Keep me informed as to your finds, this place sounds very interesting.
Good Luck!
piddler

 

[piddler]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

Hello again,
One other thing...find the old dump pile where they dumped the trash. That will reveal treasures in itself. Just be careful when looking for as not to break the old bottles and such.

piddler

 

[DevilDocST]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

Thank you

 

[Great Lakes]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

Hello, No caches for me yet! I've been hunting the old farmhouses in my area including my own. And have had good luck under the clotheslines where they hung the wash. Any area that has not likely to have been disturbed by changes in driveways updated septics and such. Of course under the trees, any pine or fur trees would have been much smaller and have grown out over time. An active farm yard is quite different from one that has just become a home. Spots where the little kids would have played away from the traffic of tractors. Under the bedroom windows where kids may have tossed things out. So basically think like a little kid. My wife would tell you that's easy for me but that's another topic all together.

Have fun

 

[civilman1]

Re: Old Farms, Farmhouses, & Metal Detecting

Make a plan and stick to it when working an area as large as you've got. First start around the entrances to the house, front and back doors. Then go into the barn where the farmer may have lost coins as he worked with his animals and hay bales. Then look for caches around the barn foundation (inside and outside the barn) and around the base of the tree. Also any chicken coops that may have been there because women tended to keep their private stashes in or near their own private work areas (kitchen, chicken coop, back porch). Then grid the fields and do them systematically. It's hard to tell where people hid caches. The locations can be as varied as the people who hid them. Take yourself back in time, then try to determine which locations were visible from the house or barn so that they could be keep in sight nearly at all times. Folks needed fairly easy access to their caches and they needed to keep a watchful eye on the location so they could see if somebody was nosing around too close to their money. Also think about buildings, trees, natural rock formations, etc. that would be more or less permanent and therefore reliable landmarks for them to use for returning to their caches if they didn't get into them very often.

Take your time, be thorough. Opportunities like yours don't come around all that often for most of us. Good luck and have fun!


PS, the privy in the barn may be a good bottle site. Get at least one friend to help you dig it out. Privies are often some of the most productive treasure sites on homesteads.

Well Done!