UPDATE: Items from an old turpentine ghost town

[JackInFlorida]

Found these two items in different locations around some old homes that were demolished. They feel like lead, but are slightly magnetic. The points around the outside made me think they were designed to press into something, probably something wood. Noticing the notches in both, I presume from prying them out of wherever they were. Has anyone seen these things before?




Thanks for all your help!

Jack

 

[goldguru]

Re: Items from an old turpentine ghost town

They look to be poured Into a Bottle cap mold..as for what they are & Use No Idea but the crown around the edge screams bottle cap mold.

Are they Lead?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Items from an old turpentine ghost town

They look like lead meter seals. The wire inside would make it slightly magnetic. FLC - Florida Light Co.?

 

[Tony in SC]

Re: Items from an old turpentine ghost town

They look like lead meter seals. The wire inside would make it slightly magnetic. FLC - Florida Light Co.?

Lead meter seals Tony

 

[JackInFlorida]

Re: Items from an old turpentine ghost town

Thanks, another study of the items shows that the nub on the bottom is most definitely wire. You guys are too smart for your own good!

Jack

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Items from an old turpentine ghost town

another pic.

 

[JackInFlorida]

A new twist thanks to TEXAN:

was there a RR with those initials close by

Hey TEXAN, you are the man! I knew these things were wire ties like was said, but not for electricity. This was one of many ghost towns created by the removal of the Florida East Coast Railroad.



Thank, Jack

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

The FEC railroad is still in use here in South Florida and is very well known. http://www.fecrwy.com/home.aspx
Yes the lead seals were used to secure many items and were used by many including railroads and utilities and sorry I failed to explain that.
I think the part I missed is are the letters FLC or FEC?

 

[JackInFlorida]

Hi bigcypresshunter,

They say FEC. The FEC railroad branch in question would have to have four wheel drive locomotives to travel the bed marked on the map.

Jack

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I would have to agree that if it says FEC, Texan nailed it.
Where you near the old track? Was it thru the swamps? Was it elevated?
What did the RR carry, besides turpentine? Lumber?

 

[JackInFlorida]

Hi bigcypresshunter,

The railroad bed is not elevated. The buildings and remnants thereof are on both sides of the bed.

The railroad running in the late 1800's here made these turpentine, citrus, lumber and potato shipping centers flourish. Espanola is still there, although it is a very small rural community now. It was sort of the hub back in the day along with Bunnell, as it was the county seat. The first road, all made of brick came down and through Espanola and over to Flagler beach. This was mainly financed and built by locals at the time.

When the main road was built, it bypassed Espanola. This was the beginning of the decline for that town. The ghost towns along the FEC path after Espanola are:

Neoga: Where we were (Possibly used to be Windermere)
Dinner Island, mainly citrus shipping center
Potatoville, give you one guess what shipped from here

This is the area that we were in:



As you can see, the town is mainly on the Northeast side of the Old Railroad Grade. This next shot shows our GPS tracks for the trip:



The above items were found right at the town of Neoga. The locket I have on my Today's Finds post was found by Tank Lake. http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,326845.0.html Didn't have any luck at Neoga Lake.

The last leg of the trip, on the east side of the map, marked "ROAD" it the original Old Dixie Highway, brick road.

Jack

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I was thinking of searching some old logging ghost towns in South-Central Florida but Im not sure who to contact for permission. There is also an old raised RR bed in the swamp/pine flatwoods area. Do I need permission to search alongside roadways and abandoned RR beds?

 

[JackInFlorida]

Hi bigcypresshunter,

I would imagine if the road is in a town, or is a county road, you would be fine. If it is a state road, then probably not, as it is not lawful to dig on state property.

Abandoned railroad beds in Florida are typically on private property, so that kinda speaks for itself.

Jack

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Abandoned railroad beds in Florida are typically on private property, so that kinda speaks for itself.

Jack

Who typically owns old RR beds? The RR companies? Its getting very hard to find a place legal to detect here in South Florida besides the beach. Maybe telling me how you went about obtaining permission would help me. Thanks.

 

[JackInFlorida]

Hi bigcypresshunter,

If an old railroad bed is not being used as a public road, as many are, then it must be on someones property or government land. We don't really have any BLM land in Florida that one can place a claim, that I know of.

If you know of a piece of land that you want to Metal Detect, search for the "county name" property appraiser. Once on that site, you can search by address etc. If it is a big piece of land out in nowhere, then you may have a map search on this site if you are lucky. These are usually not overly user friendly, but you can eventually find the lot, then change your icon to get information and click the lot. It will tell you who the owner of the property is.

The property we were on is owned by a tree farm company that owns thousands of acres in Florida. They lease this land to a hunting club. I know a guy in the club. Hooked up with the caretaker for the land and asked to poke around the town during the off season.

Jack

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Hi bigcypresshunter,

If an old railroad bed is not being used as a public road, as many are, then it must be on someones property or government land. We don't really have any BLM land in Florida that one can place a claim, that I know of.

If you know of a piece of land that you want to Metal Detect, search for the "county name" property appraiser. Once on that site, you can search by address etc. If it is a big piece of land out in nowhere, then you may have a map search on this site if you are lucky. These are usually not overly user friendly, but you can eventually find the lot, then change your icon to get information and click the lot. It will tell you who the owner of the property is.

The property we were on is owned by a tree farm company that owns thousands of acres in Florida. They lease this land to a hunting club. I know a guy in the club. Hooked up with the caretaker for the land and asked to poke around the town during the off season.

Jack

OK thanks. Good tips. I know of one particular abandoned RR bed that has state property on each side, its not posted but has a gate. I dont know who owns it. I spoke with representatives of the State preserves on both sides but they couldnt tell me anything about the RR grade.

They told me there may not be a law forbidding me to detect in the state preserves but I couldnt keep anything.