Updated 8/29 - Ghost town first-time hunt

[Staci (Fargo ND)]

Found this town last year but wasn't able to hunt...finally got out there with my dad yesterday! The town was once quite large, and was founded in the late 1880's in antipation of the railroad coming through. I could not find any population numbers past the early 1900's, but at that time there were more than 160 residents.

The city was deserted at some point when the rr didn't come, and was re-inhabited in the 50's or 60's (my guess based on the two "newer" houses). The only buildings left standing are two houses built later, and many stone foundations.

This is the town, I'll post pics of the finds in a few minutes. It was a little tough hunting with all the brush

 

[jimb]

I did not read all of the posts, but it seems like you could use a weed whacker or a powerfull lawnmower. Your finds are neat! I am sure that you will find much more in the future!

 

[Staci (Fargo ND)]

What is GE? Here's a pic of a horseshoe I found and forgot to grab out of the car. It looks kindof small?

 

[IAsoldier]

Now thats a site to hunt forever

 

[NGE]

What is GE? Here's a pic of a horseshoe I found and forgot to grab out of the car. It looks kindof small?

GE is shortened version of" Gittin' enny " As in Not Gittin' Enny........Notgittinenny

 

[Magic Fingers]

Hi Staci,

My girls went to college at UND and I loved to drive the old back roads when I went to visit them.
There were so many old empty homes.
Have fun and keep enjoying sharing this time with your dad.



Donna

 

[Staci (Fargo ND)]

ohhh "Not GE" I get it now :P

Donna, it's a lot of fun driving and seeing old houses or even storefronts etc sitting out in the field driving by. When I get a little time and money saved up I'd like to drive around for a week or so and take some nice pictures of these places and put together a ND portfolio. It's something I've taken for granted living here, but most people don't get to see the type of history we do here all around.

btw TreasureNet...It would be nice if we had an area to post photography, not necessarily of finds but of treasure hunting related things

 

[NGE]

Staci, about your small horeshoe, it could be a pony shoe, or an ox shoe, but what has my interest is where the and how it was nailed on. If my eyes aren't deceiving me, it looks like the shoes were installed wrong side up. With the cleats facing down. Was there a large river or a small pond nearby where you dug this shoe up? If so, then it came from an animal that was used to haul cut blocks of ice in the winter, made for better traction on ice than when nailed on properly. I have found many shoes nailed on in this fashion. Mostly find them in floodplain parks around here, heck one day I found 4 in same area in close proximity to each other, I can only guess what happened to the poor critter that broke through the ice....... Nice finds........NGE

 

[tchaire]

Hi Staci...Great site and great finds.

I'm not a horseshoe guy, but that shoe looks pretty normal in size. Actually a little bigger
than most of the ones I find. Do a search on youtube and you can see a horse being shoed and
do a little comparison. By the way, if you ever find something that looks like a half of horseshoe,
then you have probably found an oxen shoe. (Different type of hoof thus a different type of shoe.)

As far as the cleats go, they should be facing down. (Otherwise I don't believe a horseshoe for
normal wear has cleats.) I think in our part of the country during winter months, shoes with cleats were probably very necessary, but I don't think specifically for hauling ice. Actually, I think
cleats on hard ice would probably be very dangerous for a horse.

Note: NotGE you may be right. I'm just throwing this out there for discussion. Maybe the "horseshoe" experts will chime in with some additional info.

T.

 

[NGE]

T, thanks for the additional support. When I found these shoes, I took them to the local historian and he told me that they (old timers) used to cut ice in that particular area, and it was not uncommon for them to shoe the animals with upside down shoes. The floodplain that I hunt is a park, and that I am actually hunting old river bottom. And is was also not uncommon for an occaisional animal to break through the ice, and go to horsey heaven.....NGE

 

[kimsdad]

Not GE,
I never found a horseshoe, but now I know about why they might be "installed" upside down. It's amazing what T-Netters know....

Staci,
If you have any great shots you want to share, please post them on the "My Daily Snapshot" forum on TreasureNet. I'm sure there's a lot of people like myself who love old abandoned building photos. The only thing better is actually being able to explore them in person. If you haven't found the forum, select "Home" off of the main menu & you'll see it!

 

[tchaire]

NGE...

Just so I'm clear on this...The historian said that the cleats("calks", I think is the official term) are usually going towards the hoof. Then in certain conditions they are flipped over so
the calks are facing the ground.

T.

 

[NGE]

Yes, that was my understanding, the only way to tell how the shoe was worn, is if there are any nail heads still visible in the shoe.

 

[tchaire]

Thanks for your patience with me NGE...Things like this bother me until I know for sure!

I was under the assumption that cleats(calks) always faced down. In some of my research(I've done very little!), I've come across shoes where a toe "tab" is turned up to help hold the shoe in place, but when it comes to the calks(one at the front, two at the back is typical), they are always facing down. I'm going to do some checking with some local "horse experts" to see what they have to say.

Sorry to everyone who doesn't find this interesting.

T.

 

[treasurefiend]

ok, your awesome!!!


Marry me

My secret hunting spots will be your secret hunting spots - and vise verse...

 

[Staci (Fargo ND)]

Hmm that depends...tell me your secret hunting spots, and then I'll decide if It's a good deal or not. If so, we can get hitched when I'm in Indianapolis this month and we can ride off on my new bike. You'll have to ride on the back of course I don't do passenger.





j/k! If you're ever in ND just email and I'll be happy to have a hunting buddy for the day

 

[Colonial Copper Zeus]

I like the way you presented this story for all to enjoy. Great finds, pictures and presentation. We all can't wait to see more.
Chris

 

[bazinga]

Hmm that depends...tell me your secret hunting spots, and then I'll decide if It's a good deal or not. If so, we can get hitched when I'm in Indianapolis this month and we can ride off on my new bike. You'll have to ride on the back of course I don't do passenger.





j/k! If you're ever in ND just email and I'll be happy to have a hunting buddy for the day

If you need any spots to detect while in Indy just let me know.

Of course I'm not making the same offer as TFiend since I'm smart enough to realize that you would win all of my secret spots in the divorce, haha.

But in all seriousness, if you are in town with a detector just let me know and I can attempt to steer you in the correct direction if you enjoy finding old silver.

 

[Staci (Fargo ND)]

Thanks bscofield6 I'll have to see if I could fit the detector in a backpack and maybe do some hunting while I'm down there. I'll be flying down to get a motorcycle to drive back, so anything that doesn't fit in a tank bag or backpack can't go with :P

If I can get it to fit, what are a couple easy to find old parks that you think I'd have a chance in? pm me

 

[Mr_Mojo_Risin]

Hey Staci from Fargo... Nice story and pics. Keep us posted of your further finds, there dont-cha-know

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

That light rock that set off your machine is a piece of coal. Won't set my MXT off but drives my pinpointer crazy. I will skip a hole if it has coal in it cause I can't pinpoint. Also known as Hot Coal for us treasure hunters.

Keep us updated and HH!!