Stonewalls & Old Roads

[The Rebel]

I’ve been hiking several old abandoned roads in the woods. They are on the 1867 maps and no houses are shown to be along them. Some of these roads might be 6 miles long.

The old roads in some places are boarded by stonewalls to the left & right, which I figure were put there to help guide travelers by letting them know they were on the main road & not on some side road. In other places the border walls just end and the road continues. When I see the areas with the border walls I feel like I’m coming into an area where a cellar hole might be but I do not see any possible evidence of one, even when there is a definite opening in the wall that says to me come on in.

When looking at the aerial satellite maps I also see stonewalls go off in all directions that are squared off so these must have been pens, grazing fields…etc..

What I can’t figure out is why out in the middle of nowhere they spent so much time squaring these areas off. In my mind there has to be a cellar hole someplace that these squared off areas belonged to.

Love to hear some of your thoughts on the subject.

Thanks in advance,
Roger

 

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[got2dig]

Most of the time the walls had been put around the house and or the property to mark the lines or as a fence. They would be good to hunt if you can.

 

[BosnMate]

You are doing the right thing, research, research, research, that's the key to success. I'd be all over that like stink on a skunk, but I've done that before without enough research and just spun my wheels, and wasted a lot of time. Of course the time isn't totally wasted, you at least find out where the house wasn't.

 

[Rich in Central PA]

I’ve been hiking several old abandoned roads in the woods. They are on the 1867 maps and no houses are shown to be along them. Some of these roads might be 6 miles long.

The old roads in some places are boarded by stonewalls to the left & right, which I figure were put there to help guide travelers by letting them know they were on the main road & not on some side road. In other places the border walls just end and the road continues. When I see the areas with the border walls I feel like I’m coming into an area where a cellar hole might be but I do not see any possible evidence of one, even when there is a definite opening in the wall that says to me come on in.

When looking at the aerial satellite maps I also see stonewalls go off in all directions that are squared off so these must have been pens, grazing fields…etc..

What I can’t figure out is why out in the middle of nowhere they spent so much time squaring these areas off. In my mind there has to be a cellar hole someplace that these squared off areas belonged to.

Love to hear some of your thoughts on the subject.

Thanks in advance,
Roger

Roger, we have many old stone walls here in Pennsylvania also, and I'm not an expert on this BUT it is my understanding that those old stone walls were property boundaries, and may or may not necessarily lead to old cellar holes. The openings in these walls might had a road going through them, or possibly the walls may have been kicked over by someone for no reason.

Following old roads surely strengthens the possibility of discovering cellar holes, even if they were NOT on any old maps. Do not only look for the obvious stone foundation cellar holes, look for a large depression in the ground which might look like a dwelling could have been there. This is from first hand experience, I was finding colonial coppers, buttons, and even a Chain Cent. I realized later on that these finds were from a nearby depression in the ground which once was a colonial homestead. Good luck...........Rich

 

[The Rebel]

Thanks Guys. Good info here to chew on.

@BosnMate - Yep. Being a history major, CW buff / reenactor as well as doing my genealogy, research is the order of the day. The good thing is I'll be going back & swinging along the old road. Must be a few goodies that were dropped.

@Rich - Yep, I keep an eye out for any depressions, ground anomalies or vegetation (flowers, herbs, myrtle..). Not just a nice square hole with rocks, that would be just to easy as us cellar hole hunters know.

 

[granthansen]

One other tip (as it accidentally worked for me) when walking along, see if you can get a high vantage point (hill, easy to climb tree, etc.) I was standing right next to a cellar hole and didn't even know it till I climbed up the hill to see what was around me.

 

[0121stockpicker]

Thanks Guys. Good info here to chew on.

@BosnMate - Yep. Being a history major, CW buff / reenactor as well as doing my genealogy, research is the order of the day. The good thing is I'll be going back & swinging along the old road. Must be a few goodies that were dropped.

@Rich - Yep, I keep an eye out for any depressions, ground anomalies or vegetation (flowers, herbs, myrtle..). Not just a nice square hole with rocks, that would be just to easy as us cellar hole hunters know.

Rebel, realize that here in new England almost everything was cleared for farmland. They used to say that you could walk from one end of mass to the other without seeing a tree. Those stone walls in the middle of the woods once surrounded open farmland (then was retaken by the forest when no longer farmed). As the farmer plowed their field they would remove and pile rocks into walls. Every year frost heaves work more rocks to the surface. So most of the walls you will find once surrounded a plowed field.

 

[Bev]

These walls baffle me too. Some walls I run into- yeah, no, not literally... are very thick and tall, maybe 4 feet wide and 5 feet tall for some odd reason. I havent found out why these would be built like this yet. Some walls run parallel and are 10-20 feet wide or so- I'm told these are "shutes" where animals were driven from one area to another. Hope that helps. I've noticed looking at aerial shots on Google and Bing- Up here, Bing has more images taken in winter time so more walls, foundations are visible. Hope that helps too.
Maybe some can chime in and say whether it's true that most homes were built toward the tops of hills more than anywhere else?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Rebel, realize that here in new England almost everything was cleared for farmland. They used to say that you could walk from one end of mass to the other without seeing a tree. Those stone walls in the middle of the woods once surrounded open farmland (then was retaken by the forest when no longer farmed). As the farmer plowed their field they would remove and pile rocks into walls. Every year frost heaves work more rocks to the surface. So most of the walls you will find once surrounded a plowed field.

That is the straight dope. The other thing to look for in these stone walls are meteorites. That is just a heads up!

 

[AnnieF]

BEV - Answer to your question about why some stone walls are bigger/wider than others: Some were just property lines laid out by simply clearing the field of rocks and that's just what you did with them! Those are the little/skinny ones. The bigger/wider ones are indicative of land that once contained livestock. Also, if you see that the earth is a little higher on one side of the wall than the other, that means it was plowed year after year up to the wall...

I'm very proud of myself being able to answer you as I just read this information a couple of weeks ago! I'm here in MA and dang if I haven't become OBSESSED with "above ground archaeology"!!!!

 

[Garabaldi]

Wow!!!! what a great thread. I think if stone wall all the time especially now the fall is hear. Every time I drive on a road this time of year I can't help looking in the woods to see if I notice stone walls or celler holes. Its worst than texting and driving. I just google earthed a site I want to check out that I cant get to off the main road

 

[AnnieF]

Wow!!!! what a great thread. I think if stone wall all the time especially now the fall is hear. Every time I drive on a road this time of year I can't help looking in the woods to see if I notice stone walls or celler holes. Its worst than texting and driving. I just google earthed a site I want to check out that I cant get to off the main road

It's MD porn, isn't it?!!! TOTAL distraction!!!!! I do the same damned thing. Happily, my oldest has just gotten her permit so I am spending A LOT of time in the passenger seat so now I can look without driving off the road... assuming SHE doesnt

 

[oldsalty19]

a lot of the time the homes were just log and stone houses without a celler under them.....then off somewhere close to the house was a "root" celler which may be filled in by now.....interesting place to hunt though.....good luck

 

[Jim of PA]

Lots of stone walls around. Think they was used as a fence line Was a great way to clear your property

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[Bev]

BEV - Answer to your question about why some stone walls are bigger/wider than others: Some were just property lines laid out by simply clearing the field of rocks and that's just what you did with them! Those are the little/skinny ones. The bigger/wider ones are indicative of land that once contained livestock. Also, if you see that the earth is a little higher on one side of the wall than the other, that means it was plowed year after year up to the wall...

I'm very proud of myself being able to answer you as I just read this information a couple of weeks ago! I'm here in MA and dang if I haven't become OBSESSED with "above ground archaeology"!!!!

Oh I like your explanation! I appreciate your input! I dont find as much in livestock fields as I do in agricultural pastures, do you?

 

[Gunrunner61]

I feel for all you folks up norths pain at trying to figure out these rock walls........ Down here in N.Georgia I've been hunting for about 7 years now......No Rock walls..... Except on top of Fort Mountain(OFF! LIMITS)....And have found only one celler hole. I guess The best we can do is look for old foundation stones, and Big tress set back in the woods. BUT!! Good luck in your endevors and you sound like your on the right track!!............HH

 

[cra61]

Most stone walls were put up to use the vast amount of rocks found in the north east. New Hampshire is crisscrossed with them and quite often you will find them in the middle of the woods with no clearings around them. Look for apple trees and signs of old wells to possibly find the location of cellar holes. Remember too many older houses may not have had cellar holes but instead stones forming a foundation to protect the underside of a home.

 

[AnnieF]

Oh I like your explanation! I appreciate your input! I dont find as much in livestock fields as I do in agricultural pastures, do you?

I wish I could say I've hunted either one but I haven't! I'm very new to this.