Old school property

[Auriemma]

There is an old school property near me. The school itself was built in 1926 and razed in 2005. It's now just an empty grass field. Would it be worth it to hunt it? Or not, because of all the soil being moved when the school was torn down?

 

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[DirtWarrior]

I would think so , there's always something to find ...

 

[penzfan]

It's worth it when you find something of value...

 

[GatorBoy]

I would imagine there is portions of the property that are fairly undisturbed if you have a good eye you should be able to tell which is lower more compact undisturbed soil.
I can usually find areas like that fairly quickly... It helps cut down on the amount of trash also.
Try finding out where the children gathered like the playground area and things like that that might be a good bet

 

[dirtlooter]

there is only one way to find out

 

[Auriemma]

Well. The township said they have no rules against MDing and that there have been a few people hunting the ball fields at the other end of the property.

 

[GatorBoy]

That's good news just be respectful and do your best to make sure it stays that way... good luck to you

 

[Carolina Tom]

The place where the building was is going to be a "shadow"... nothing was under the building. If they did not grade the lot, then there could be something good. If it still has old trees and old grass (thin blades) then hunt the place and see what you get.

It might have been hunted hard prior to being torn down. Just go hit it up and see what comes up. GL&HH.

 

[GatorBoy]

Good point Tom... Paying attention to the grass is something I do but never really thought about it as explaining it to someone I definitely watch for sod or new planted types of grass

 

[OWK]

You... are supposed to tell US if it was worth it..

 

[Auriemma]

Jeez! I got home from work, had dinner, grabbed my gear, and went to the old school for an 1.5 hours...

It was pretty obvious where the building was. So I worked around that. There were some pretty long targets 3-5 feet long. I assumed rebar and moved on. What I didn't see was all the concrete buried about 4-6 inches down. I kept getting what seemed to be solid targets only to be thwarted by slabs.

I did manage to find a spike and a silver (plated) spoon, stamped GENESEE SILVERPLATE. The spike was easily 8" deep, the spoon about 6".

There is a lot of ground to cover. Looks like I'm going back. Just a matter of when.

 

[Auriemma]

Addendum... I just found that spoon pattern the web... Lynnwood Memory (Oneida) pattern dating c1934!
Did NOT see that coming!

 

[gleaner1]

That school yard has been beat down by every tecter dude for miles around, for decades.

 

[Dave Rishar]

We have a site very similar to what you described in town, although the school was torn down a few decades ago. In addition to the massive amounts of trash that accumulated while it was an unmaintained vacant lot, there's also an astonishing amount of building materials in the ground - door knobs, sprinkler heads, LOTS of chunks of dressed stone, pipes and rebar, etc. It's almost as if they simply pushed the building over and covered it up with a few inches of dirt.

There's another old school site in the same general area of town and it's the opposite - no building materials at all, and not a lot of modern trash either. Unfortunately they probably filled the heck out of it, so all that trash (and the goodies) are probably still there...under several feet of dirt, anyway.

There's a third one only a few blocks from me that's essentially clean; one can walk for long periods of time in all metal and not hear a chirp. The one and only time that I went there, I did a compete circuit of the sidelines and found one bottlecap and one dime. I suspect that someone is hammering the crap out of this place, as there's absolutely no reason for so little trash to be there. No sign of the school or its inhabitants, obviously.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you won't know what is or isn't in that field until you've put a coil over it in its entirety. There's no other way to be sure.

 

[Auriemma]

Dave, I'm lucky that the site, before and after razing, has always beem well maintained. It still is. Its a 15 acrea site with 3 kids ball fields. That still leaves a lot of empty space to explore.

Gleaner1, yes, it MAY have been hunted out for decades, in my first hour I found a spike and spoon with a MD I'm unfamiliar with. They couldn't have looked that hard!

 

[CoilyGirl]

I'm thinking since you found the old spike and spoon that the school hasn't been pounded that hard. Good luck in future hunts there.

 

[Carolina Tom]

Dave Rishar is correct... you have to put the coil to it or you will never know. I have found some awesome coins at older public schools... hit by the best guys in town for decades.

I got 2 silver quarters last Friday night at just such a site.

Go slow, think positive and enjoy yourself. GL&HH.

 

[Auriemma]

Tom... enjoying it is what it is about. It's not about what you find, it's about FINDING IT! Anything else is a bonus.

 

[Auriemma]

Over lunch I did a little research. Found an older Google satellite image, then compared it to the current image. I was literally hunting INSIDE the old school. No wonder I found so much buried concrete. Now I have a much better idea where to look and where to expect trouble.

 

[CladGrabber]

Sucess favors those who do their research.