That time of year for research..here are a few examples..

[Jim C.]

Old plat maps, history books of your area, online historical sites, free real estate magazines (can find photos and address of old homes), old newspaper articles at local library. It can be just as much fun doing research to find old spots especially in the winter when you are trapped inside anyway.
Oh, I forgot. Its a good idea to keep a journal of your finds and where you found them. I have done this for years. As time goes by and you continualy increase your detecting skills you can go back though your journal and hit places that you found some good finds at and with your new and improved skills you can go back and find even more.
Jim

 

[Planet1mars]

I have just started on some new ideas and maybe a few treasure tales i may hunt down for the summer...holidays just stresses me so i dont do as much in december

 

[mikewaz]

I used to hit the small town libraries and look in the reference section (if they had one) for books written about life growing up in a small town.

I'd normally ask the librarian for help, because a lot of the books did not mention the towns name in the title. For instance a book might be titled "In Between The Pines", while the book in fact might be about growing up in Greenville at the turn of the century.

I've found picnic groves, forgotten scenic overlooks (lovers lanes), etc..., reading these type of books. It was exciting finding the areas this way, but it sure made for a long winter.

Good Luck!
Mike

 

[Giant056]

I really like using google earth and even better yet is http://maps.live.com/ , it has a really nice birdseye view. I've been doing this lately cause the only places that are anywhere close to being detectable are woods and some of them freeze solid too. This will be the third winter I've gone detecting in the winter months. We're already off to a hardcore winter right now. I've been have decent luck in woods adjoining parks and anywhere near or in the city where there's woods.

 

[Planet1mars]

i had a google map that showed what the areas used to look like back in the day but i cant find it no more, i have a lifetime membership with the history channel and i had access but i cant find it if anyone had seen it let me know please it was a cool feature it showed for example summerset park before they turned it into summerset mall in the 60s

 

[starwarsblazer]

I love doing research in the local library, but unfortunately lots of the areas to search in my area are already parking lots or parking ramps! Darn downtown development! lol