So no more old timers.

[Trezurehunter]

They are old books by the County that have the pages broken down by township within that county. They are basically maps of each township within a county within a state. They will show where the old homesteads, churches, & schools were. Back in the day there was a schoolhouse on a corner every 2 miles. A church is simply a cross on the spot. These books can be expensive as they are original & can cost $ 400 to $ 800. There are cheaper ways to go about it. You can go to your library & probably pull up the same info & copy it for .25 cents a page. This way you can refine the area you are looking at also. In a lot of my posts I will put "found at 1870 homestead" or "found at 1910 schoolhouse". This is because that is the year plat book that I used to find that area. They really are a wealth of information, but would not be of any use if you were to try hunting an old homestead in town somewhere. These are used pretty much for hunting the country areas. Hope this helped.

What are plat books?

 

[Waterbug]

I read about an old race track that was located in what is now a large farm field. A local resident informed me that it had been in a certain corner of the field. Nothing was found after several hunts. I then did some research through OLD(1940s-1950s) aerial photos. The outline of the track showed plain as day, but it was in the middle of the field, not in the corner. Newer aerials do not show any indication of it at all. The older the aerial photos you can find, the better indication of long gone buildings, roads, etc. will show.

 

[Frankn]

I buy Plat Books for the counties I am searching in. I have some from 1870 & 1910. They are a wealth of info for those of us that live near farm country. They show where all the old homesteads, churches, & schools were located in those years. Find the old places = find the old stuff !

Good info.
Also old geological survey maps. They show not only structures, but outhouses, corrals and more. Frank

 

[Frankn]

Ivan,
To me, the 'fun' part, not the 'hard' part, of finding anything is the joy experienced in the research effort.
And like you wrote, old newspaper stories have been the greatest research tool I've possessed for finding coins.
One year I took the summer going to many towns (in Nevada) looking for 100 year old locations of baseball fields, horse racing track, reunion parks, and other areas where people gathered outside.
Though my finds didn't cover my costs (I enjoyed good food and adult beverages), the memories retained more than make up for the 'loss'.
Don........

There was no loss Don. You can't put a price on memories. Now did you find those gold coins yet? Frank
Here's my next memory I got the location nailed down.

 

[against the wind]

www.farmandhomepublishers.com

Scroll down to plat maps

 

[Tnmountains]

Where the old technology lies is your start for the hunt. Libraries,diaries and old news paper clippings.

 

[Mackaydon]

Frank,
I'm following Ivan's second rule: Just don't talk about found treasures.
But if you are asking if I followed up on that Journal entry I referenced above, the answer is: "Not yet" since I'd have to first get past Drake's Island where 40 tons of silver are located.
Don....

 

[ivan salis]

mac I'm not saying not to talk -- I'm just saying don't do it for "free" -- as a "researcher" I know that -information in the treasure hunting "game" can be worth its weight in gold or silver .. so don't just give your work and treasure hunting area info away for nothing..now however once the booty HAS BEEN FOUND --THEN ITS TIME TO SHUT THE HELL UP -- THE FEWER THAT KNOW ABOUT IT , THE BETTER IT IS FOR YOU..

THERE ARE 3 TYPES OF INFO I HAVE #1 INFO OF MINOR IMPORTANCE THAT I WILL SHARE WITH MOST FOLKS FOR FREE #2 INFO OF REAL IMPORTANCE THAT MIGHT LEAD TO A DECENT AMOUNT OF CASH THAT I WILL SELL FOR A SMALL FEE #3 INFO OF GREAT IMPORTANCE THAT COULD LEAD TO HUGE SUMS OF MONEY --THAT WILL REQUIRE A HEFTY FEE IN EXCHANGE FOR IT.

 

[AbTexEx]

Just about every treasure hunting book I've read is from around the 60s and 70s. The number one tip they gave was to talk to the old timers for leads. I'm pretty sure the old timers from then are pretty much gone now so where do we go for leads now?

no one ever asks


AJones

 

[neo]

Is there a place I can buy geological survey maps of the county I live in? Can I buy them online or do I have to go to a county office and if so what office?

 

[tomhighland]

I use the library microfiche of old newspapers. Tells me the places and events that lead to great possibilities. The biggest problem is so much is paved over.

 

[Frankn]

Is there a place I can buy geological survey maps of the county I live in? Can I buy them online or do I have to go to a county office and if so what office?

Just pop U S Geological Survey in your search block and select maps.

 

[mlayers]

plat book are book that tells who own the land and showed where old school, churches and the old home was. They show the roads where they was. Then you get the new plat book and show your area as it is today.

 

[gunsil]

Try your local historical society for old maps of an area you wish to hunt. My local county historical society sells 1854 and 1876 maps of my county with all the mills, schools, churches, and landowners names on them. They also have a map of all the colonial houses still standing and where many used to be. These maps also show a relative idea of the location of all the houses. My area has been settled since the 1600s and although "progress" has buried much of the area under strip malls and housing developments I have still located colonial sites in the woods from these maps. Often there are "old timers" manning the desks and info booths at the historical societies and they can be helpful. I am getting into old timer territory myself I suppose, but 45 years ago I was given permission to hunt my historical society's two museum sites which were colonial homes and found a lot of cool old coins and relics there.

 

[neo]

Try your local historical society for old maps of an area you wish to hunt. My local county historical society sells 1854 and 1876 maps of my county with all the mills, schools, churches, and landowners names on them. They also have a map of all the colonial houses still standing and where many used to be. These maps also show a relative idea of the location of all the houses. My area has been settled since the 1600s and although "progress" has buried much of the area under strip malls and housing developments I have still located colonial sites in the woods from these maps. Often there are "old timers" manning the desks and info booths at the historical societies and they can be helpful. I am getting into old timer territory myself I suppose, but 45 years ago I was given permission to hunt my historical society's two museum sites which were colonial homes and found a lot of cool old coins and relics there.

I'll check for maps but mine sucks they told me they didn't know much about my local area, so I'm not to sure what they really do.

 

[Cletus]

there is a few still out there. one of my hunting buddy's started digging in 1961.
when i have a question he usually can help. if not i go to Joe aka "Relic Hunter".
Not that he is old lol. he just knows relics!!

 

[Mackaydon]

If you can afford a four day research vacation, take the 400 mile drive to DC and visit the Library of Congress Map Room for two days; then return home.
Take with you a specific list of maps you seek (location and age). You will not be disappointed with the maps you will be offered to review; you will be overwhelmed.
Don......

 

[neo]

I do have a book that lists treasure maps in the library on congress but many books by treasure hunters have said even actual treasure maps are pretty much useless.

 

[Frankn]

You can access the Library of Congress on line I have searched in the map room on line, but someone beat me to that cache years before. Frank

 

[Jason in Enid]

You can access the Library of Congress on line I have searched in the map room on line, but someone beat me to that cache years before. Frank

the problem with their online part is that MANY of the maps are not available to view. You can see the description and info, but no map. I did order a digital download of a ghost town map they had which is not available anywhere else though!